Click here for more info on the new benefit album by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band available to purchase at the upcoming shows.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band began touring in 1963 in
support of the mission of their home, which opened in 1961 to offer everyone a
chance to experience the sounds of New Orleans in an intimate and direct forum - a venue with no
drinks, air conditioning or other such accoutrements.
Many of the band's charter members performed with the
pioneers who invented jazz in the early 20th century including Buddy Bolden,
Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Bunk Johnson.
Bandleaders over the famed group's history have included the
brothers Willie and Percy Humphrey, husband and wife Billie and De De Pierce,
famed pianist Sweet Emma Barrett, and, in the modern day, Wendell and John
Brunious.
For many years there were several bands successfully touring
under the name Preservation Hall.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the now singular,
multigenerational Preservation Hall Jazz Band has emerged as both goodwill and
philanthropic ambassadors, and this rare south Louisiana tour will open with a
brief documentary film and offer unprecedented encounters with the storied
histories of the band, its members and the group's namesake venue.
Selected releases:
"New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1," Preservation
Hall, 2009
"Made in New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions
[CD/DVD],"
P reservation Hall, 2007
"Billie and De De Pierce and Their PHJB,"
Preservation Hall, 1966
Click here to purchase tickets.
