If you haven't heard yet, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be joining musical forces with the Blind Boys of Alabama in support of The Blind Boys' album Down By The Riverside. Go to the Down By The Riverside Myspace Page to find out if they're coming to your town. Read the press release about the tour:
BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA, PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND ANNOUNCE COLLABORATIVE TOUR
LEGENDS OF GOSPEL AND JAZZ HIT THE ROAD AFTER RECORDING TOGETHER ON THE BLIND BOYS’ LATEST CD DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
“DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE” KICKS OFF SEPTEMBER 16th
The Blind Boys of Alabama and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band continue to bring attention to the rich musical heritage of New Orleans by announcing their joint “Down By The Riverside” tour, starting Sept. 16, 2008 and running through March of 2009. By joining together, these two historic institutions reaffirm that the Crescent City is still a source of great music as it continues to rebuild and revitalize.
In January, the Blind Boys released Down In New Orleans, their first album ever recorded in the Big Easy. The album has received overwhelming critical acclaim, and features guest performances by the legendary Allen Toussaint, local kingpins the Hot 8 Brass Band, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In April the Blind Boys and Preservation Hall performed together, along with special guests Dr. John, Susan Tedeschi, and others, at a sold-out concert at Tipitinas club in New Orleans. The show was recorded for a DVD which is due out in early 2009.
Released on January 29th, Down In New Orleans represents the Blind Boys desire to bring hope to the still storm-ravaged city. The Washington Post raved that the CD was “Inspired and relevant, (and) borders on the miraculous.” USA Today praised the “rousing musical tribute to New Orleans,” while Rolling Stone called it “A super weapon of roots-music uplift” and the Toronto Sun gasped, “inspirational.”
Last spring, Preservation Hall Recordings released Made in New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions, collection of timeless, previously unreleased recordings by the PHJB, some salvaged from New Orleans' flooded Sea Saint Studios. It also included performance footage of the PHJB, from their first 1961 appearance on the Brinkley News Hour to a 2005 music video for their cover of the Kinks' "Complicated Life," featuring a carnivalesque pre-Katrina French Quarter bicycle parade. This spring, creative director Ben Jaffe unveiled "Preservation Hall Presents," the Hall's latest recording project - a series of recordings by PHJB members that will showcase the many individual talents that make up the collective face of the venerable band.
This year, the Hall mourned the loss of trumpet player John Brunious, Jr., who led the PHJB for more than two decades. Carrying on a formidable family legacy of New Orleans' music his nephew, 34-year-old Mark Braud leads the ensemble. Vocalist and clarinet player Clint Maedgen, who came to Preservation Hall from cabaret-act, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, also continues to bring the tradition forward - in January 2008, he sang the national anthem with the PHJB at the prestigious BCS college football championship at the New Orleans Superdome.
About the Blind Boys:
The Blind Boys of Alabama have thrilled and inspired audiences the world over since they formed in 1939, and are still creating critically acclaimed recordings and reaching new career heights even today. In recent years the group has won FOUR consecutive Grammy Awards, been featured on “60 Minutes,” “Regis & Kelly,” “The Tonight Show” and the “Late Show with David Letterman”, performed on the 2005 Grammy Awards telecast, and appeared in the 2003 movie “The Fighting Temptations” alongside Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr. They sang a Phil Collins tune in Disney’s “Brother Bear” animated film, and were also the inspiration for the Steven Bochco TV series “Blind Justice.” The Blind Boys have also been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and awarded the NEA’s Heritage Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement, as well as many other prestigious honors, earning them the true distinction of “living gospel legends.”
About Preservation Hall:
Dedicated to preserving New Orleans Jazz, the world-renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from the venerable music venue--The Preservation Hall, which is located in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1961 by Allan &
Sandra Jaffe, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band tours the world serving as emissaries of New Orleans Jazz, the original American art form. They have performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the New Orleans Jazz Fest, from the Kennedy Center to Boston Symphony Hall. Their audiences are wide and varied and they have numerous notable fans including the King of Thailand. They’ve also performed for all sitting Presidents since John F. Kennedy.
The band received the 2006 National Medal of Arts from the United States. Privately held, Preservation Hall consists of the French Quarter venue, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Preservation Hall Recordings and preservationhall.com. Founded by Benjamin Jaffe and Sarah Borealis after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Musician Hurricane Relief Fund (Renew Our Music) is a non-profit economic development organization that provides direct assistance to musicians, businesses and organizations within the cultural economy of New Orleans.
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