Preservation Plus

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been around since the early 1960s, an outgrowth of the Preservation Hall venue in New Orleans. In its early incarnations, the band served as an essential employer for older New Orleans musicians and provided an important connection to the deep history of jazz in that city. When I was a kid way back when, my parents took me to one of their tour stops in San Diego. It was my first introduction to what’s now known as “trad” jazz.

Flash forward to 2015 and my first trip to New Orleans. My wife and I visited Preservation Hall and now it’s pretty much my favorite place in the world. Every time I go there it’s a religious experience, for both the music and the deep history. It’s the funkiest shrine you’ll ever find.

This was especially true for my first visit, when we were lucky enough to have what I’ll call the “A” team of the Preservation Hall Band on the stage. Aside from their stellar musicianship, what’s really fantastic about this group is the way they’ve updated the trad jazz at the heart of their sound with original compositions that incorporate more Afro-Cuban styles as well as a few modern jazz and funk inflections. Below is a great video concert (though not from Preservation Hall) that’s a great representation of their sound, mixing new and traditional.

The band’s most recent albums, That’s It! and So It Is are both fantastic. I also recommend the recent documentary Tuba to Cuba.

Give any of the music above a listen. I guarantee it will light (and lighten) up your life.