J & M Studio, New Orleans

Recording studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Between 1947 and 1956, the studio took up a 15-by-16 feet room in the back of the J&M Music Shop at 838-40 North Rampart Street that Cosimo V. Matassa and his business partner, Joe Mancuso, owned. In Spring 1956 Matassa moved his recording activities to the larger Cosimo Recording Studio. Matassa, working with producer and arranger Dave Bartholomew, recorded here many early sessions by rock 'n' roll and rhythm & blues pioneers like Fats Domino, Little Richard, Dave Bartholomew himself, Professor Longhair, Smiley Lewis, Lloyd Price, Roy Brown, and Shirley And Lee. In addition, Matassa also recorded Cajun, hillbilly, gospel and jazz musicians, notably Oscar "Papa" Celestin and Danny Barker. Nowadays, the former site of the studio is occupied by an art gallery, but a historical marker set up by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum marks the site's importance in the history of rock 'n' roll.