BEACON NEWS
- APRIL 12, 2007 -

Paramount Theatre hosts Preservation Hall Jazz Band

By: RANDALL G. MIELKE

At the turn of the 20th century and into the 1920s and 1930s, New Orleans jazz music was considered by some to be the pop music of its day, according to Benjamin Jaffe, creative director of Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans.

"Louis Armstrong," Jaffe said, "was the Michael Jackson of the 1920s."

Interest in the New Orleans jazz sound, kept alive by groups such as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which will appear at the Paramount Theatre on April 22, continues today.

"It has a wide appeal across racial lines and across social lines," Jaffe said about the sound. "The music was developed as dance music, as entertainment. It has retained that quality all these years."

Preservation Hall, which is located in the French Quarter in New Orleans, opened its doors in 1961. The hall was created as a sanctuary, to protect and honor New Orleans jazz, which had lost much of its popularity to modern jazz and rock 'n' roll. Allan and Sandra Jaffe, the hall's founders and Benjamin's parents, wanted a place where New Orleans musicians could play New Orleans jazz, a style, they believed, should not disappear. The band and the Preservation Hall venue became home to such important jazz musicians as Willie and Percy Humphrey, Billie and Dee Dee Pierce, pianist Sweet Emma Barrett, and many others.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall. The band has traveled worldwide, spreading its mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans jazz, music that embodies a joyful, timeless spirit.

Like many other cultural institutions, Preservation Hall and the touring Preservation Hall Jazz Band were affected by the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe in August 2005.

"Business in New Orleans has been so slow," Jaffe said. "The hurricane made us take a hit economically, although the hall itself was not damaged. It is laborious and tedious to still talk about it, but it is also laborious and tedious to live it.

"We continue to fight for culture and our way of life everyday," he continued. "One benefit we had before the hurricane was the brisk tourism trade. It is like Las Vegas, it was the primary source of revenue."

The Preservation Hall has since reopened, and the seven-member Preservation Hall Jazz Band, led by trumpeter John Brunious, continues to tour, playing about 200 dates each year.

"Most of the guys are between their 40s and 70s," said Jaffe, who played bass in the group for 13 years, but has stopped touring with the band to focus on hurricane relief efforts. "None of the first generation members are alive anymore, but all of us have a connection to the original band members. My father was an original founding member. John Brunious' father composed many of the songs we perform today."

The band's repertoire changes from venue to venue.

"There is not one thing that determines it," Jaffe said about the songs the band plays at each performance. "Sometimes we will do songs from our last recording. After the storm, we revisited some songs done over the 45-year history of the band.

"The Paramount audience might hear songs from 30 or 40 years ago that we have not played in years," he continued. "One example is Louis Armstong's Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans. It is a sad, reflective song, particularly now."

The band is also finishing a new CD, tentatively titled Made in New Orleans.

"We began recording it prior to the floods and just finished it recently," Jaffe said. "It should be out in late April."

Jaffe is also putting together a project that is more than just a recording.

"With Katrina, a lot of photos, memorabilia, record albums and other items were lost," he said. "I took it as a wake up call to capture what is left of Preservation Hall history. I am working on a boxed set -- memorabilia, photos. I found the first contract that Mom signed with the city to play music as Preservation Hall. I might include that."

As for the future of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jaffe sees it as a way to continue the music of such New Orleans Jazz greats as Sweet Emma Barrett and Percy Humphrey.

"We lost a lot of physical memories in New Orleans," he said, "but we can bring back living traditions."