The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is one of the world’s most well-known embodiments of New Orleans jazz, a group that celebrates the music as both a treasured tradition and vibrant, living musical form. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band offers traditional jazz, often with contemporary twists, both at their namesake New Orleans venue and across the globe. Many regard the efforts of Preservation Hall (both the club and the band) as crucial in saving this uniquely American art form from extinction, and, more importantly, creating an environment where it flourishes today. In 2006, the band was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, or PHJB, took root in the early 1960s when gallery owner Larry Borenstein, a jazz fan, hired traditional jazz musicians to play in his French Quarter shop because he liked the music and it attracted customers. In 1961, he turned the enterprise over to Allen and Sandra Jaffe, a couple from Pennsylvania who stopped in New Orleans on their honeymoon, fell in love with the music at Preservation Hall, and basically never left.
This was a time when traditional jazz was dying out, literally; its pioneering musicians were aging, in ill health, and facing significant socio-economic challenges in the still-segregated South. As word of mouth spread the news, jazz pilgrims began making their way to Preservation Hall to hear this authentic music from those who were in at the beginning, in an intimate environment with no air conditioning, no racial divides, and no alcohol.
In 1963, Allen Jaffe, a tuba player himself, formed a touring band featuring some of Preservation Hall’s leading players and headed out on the road to spread the gospel of traditional jazz. These artists included Sweet Emma Barrett, Kid Thomas Valentine, Percy Humphrey, Willie Humphrey, DeDe and Billie Pierce, and the world-renowned clarinetist George Lewis; later iterations of the band included greats such as Lucien and Paul Barbarin, Wendell and John Brunious, Lars Edegran, Frank Fields, Cie Frazier, Leroy Jones, Orange Kellin, Jeanette Kimball, Carl LeBlanc, Freddie Lonzo, Punch Miller, Sing Miller, Walter Payton, Tom Sancton, Kid Sheik, Gregg Stafford, Don Vappie, Mari Watanabe, and Michael White.
Both Preservation Hall and the PHJB generated press interest, and audiences around the world rallied to the flag. The band sought out new listeners, opening for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West, playing at festivals from Newport to Coachella, and at the palace of the King of Thailand (who sat in on sax).
Over fifty years later, PHJB continues to spread its gospel world-wide, nurturing and perpetuating New Orleans jazz as traditional, timeless, and trend-setting. After Allen Jaffe died, his son Benjamin, who earned a music degree at Oberlin, took over artistic management as well as playing bass and tuba in the band. Under his leadership, the band has embraced collaborations with such varied groups as the Foo Fighters, The Blind Boys of Alabama (on their Grammy-winning Down in New Orleans), Pete Seeger, Arcade Fire, Tom Waits, bluegrass’s Del McCoury Band, and My Morning Jacket, and contemporary dance ensembles (performing at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center).
Current members include Ben Jaffe on double bass and tuba, Charlie Gabriel on sax and clarinet, Walter Harris on drums, Kyle Roussel on piano, Ronell Johnson on trombone, Branden Lewis on trumpet, and Clint Maedgen on sax.
In 2015, the band made an epiphany-laden trip to Cuba, connecting the dots between the roots of New Orleans jazz and the Afro-Carribean traditions from which it sprang. This journey is celebrated in the 2019 documentary, “A Tuba to Cuba,” which won an armful of awards and is available on leading on-demand channels.
Their discography includes nearly 40 full releases, as well as countless compilations and collaborations. Their two most recent albums feature all-new original music. The PHJB performs around the world, from Carnegie Hall to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, as well as at its namesake club.
