Saturday, June 27, 2009

And The Winners Are...


-Grace Wilson,
-Michael Samardzija

and...

-Aaron Wood-Snyderman!

Thanks to everybody who entered!

For those who have asked, the New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 special edition Boxed Collection will be available at our online store very soon. Keep an eye out for coming updates!

Winners: you'll be hearing from us soon!

~Preservation Hall.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Several Entrants, 2 Winners! (so far...)


Thanks for everyone who's sent in an entry for our contest so far!

We have 2 Winners to announce:
1.) Grace Wilson of New Orleans
2.) smudgi (We don't know smudgi's real name, yet!)

Still waiting for one more correct quiz response. It seems question number 5 is the one that's tripping everyone up. :)

A hint: It wasn't Elvis.

Keep sending them in, folks!

Thanks,
Preservation Hall

A link to the original contest Quiz:
http://preshall.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-orleans-preservation-vol-1-now.html

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1: NOW AVAILABLE NATIONALLY! (it's contest time!)

That's right, ladies and gentlemen...

As of today, the latest CD from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is available nationally, wherever great music is sold! Check your local retailer! Ask for it by name! It's a wonderful recording folks, and if you haven't heard it yet, we're hoping you get the chance real soon.

And in celebration of this momentous occasion, Preservation Hall is announcing their first ever online contest! Here's the deal: Be one of the first three fans to answer the following quiz questions correctly, email your answers to preservationhall@gmail.com, and win your very own New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 Boxed Collectors Edition!

The box is modeled after the Angelo Brocato's pastry box, a much-loved institution here in New Orleans, and contains a veritable treasure trove of goodies pulled from the 50-year archives of Preservation Hall. Contents include the new CD, a cassette tape, a promotional VHS, an 8x10 black and white glossy promotional picture, and a ton of other cool stuff. Maybe the coolest? The "All-Access" laminated pass that gains you free entrance to performances at Preservation Hall on any of our normal nights of operation! Normally sold for $75 dollars, all you have to do is be one of the first three fans to send the correct answers to the following quiz to PreservationHall@gmail.com.

THE QUIZ!
1.) Preservation Hall will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary soon! In what year did Allan And Sandra Jaffe first open the building at 726 St. Peter street under this name?

2.) Before it housed Preservation Hall, the building at 726 St. Peter Street in New Orleans' French Quarter housed an art gallery where legendary jazz musicians held informal jam sessions on a donations-only basis. The name of the gallery was "Associated Artists." Who was the owner?

3.) Who is the oldest current member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band?

4.) Youngest member and leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Mark Braud is the nephew to two former trumpet playing-leaders of this legendary group. Name them both!

5.)
What is the name of the character in "King Creole" who's apartment in the movie was upstairs in the courtyard of Preservation Hall?

Please email your answers to PreservationHall@gmail.com. And thanks for playing!

Monday, June 15, 2009

"Preserving" And Promoting Our Treasured Musicians (by Geraldine Wyckoff - Louisiana Weekly)

The following is an excerpt from a lovely article in this week's Louisiana Weekly, written by Geraldine Wyckoff. You can follow this link to the read the rest of the article, including a nice spotlight feature on regular Hall drummer Ernie Elly!

"Even on a sultry, drizzling June night in New Orleans, Preservation Hall packs them in. Fortunately, the tourists who come searching for the traditional jazz that was born in this city are served up the real music that locals might take for granted. What makes it different from some tourist destinations is that the history of jazz lives within its chipped cement walls as well as in the musicians that play within its environs. Those of us who live in New Orleans know these guys such as bassist Walter Payton, who taught many a youngster who attended McDonogh 15 in the Quarter and have gone on to enjoy professional careers themselves. Musicians who have jazz running through their veins-like trumpeter Mark Braud of the legendary Brunious family and Joe Lastie whose Ninth Ward clan helped to create and carry on New Orleans music-remain regulars here.

"Hey, let's go to Preservation Hall tonight," might sound oddly foreign when suggested by residents. But, really, it's not a bad idea for music lovers ready to take a stroll in the early evening and remember what this city is all about - what makes it special. Another enticement is that during the month of July, all shows are half-price for locals - only $5. Oh, and here's something new. You can now bring drinks in plastic cups into the Hall..."

"...The Preservation Hall Jazz Band's latest CD, New Orleans Preservation - Volume 1 presents a similar ambiance as it was recorded live at the St. Peter Street club. It too, offers traditional jazz's many different styles and moods and importantly it includes a wealth of less-mined material.

The album opens with the band's newest member, Clint Maedgen of the eclectic Bingo! Show fame, taking the lead on vocals. A tremendous singer, he's definitely in the spirit of the lively "Short Dressed Girl" with trombonist Freddie Lonzo interjecting some well-placed, dirty slides. Maedgen, who's also heard on tenor saxophone, displays his stylistic range and brings much-appreciated variety to the disc. He easily moves from the swamp pop of "Halloween" with the mandatory piano triplets provided by Rickie Monet to the country and western sounds of "Blue Yodel #9" to the smooth richness of the standard "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire."

Vocal duties are shared by several of the band's talented musicians. Clarinetist Charlie Gabriel takes the microphone on the easygoing "My Sweet Substitute. Meanwhile trumpeter Mark Braud is called in on for more typical numbers like "Tiger Rag" that is pumped by band director Ben Jaffe's sousaphone and "Ice Cream." It's natural that the good-natured and often hilarious Walter Payton takes on "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate." Standing center stage at the Hall, he animates the song much to the delight of the audience..."

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Another Great Review!

Many thanks to Jason Berry for the great review of
New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 in this month's
New Orleans Magazine!


"...The first cut of this grand record, “Short Dressed Gal,” has reedman Maedgen singing the story of a country woman who has to get across a river, rents a horse for $5 and, because of her short dress, sets off a riverbank scandal as the farming folk stand around trying to get a peek at her drawers. How tame the standards of salacious material when compared to hardcore rap or Chaucer’s chapter on the “Wife of Bath.” The song was also popular in Cajun country far back in the mists of time (Alida Viator, gone to Austin since Hurricane Katrina, did a stellar version on Songs from the Canary Islands). Freddie Lonzo’s joco-swinging trombone lines serve as a solid foil to Maedgen’s vocals.

The range of styles in the canon of early jazz gets a good display. “Westlawn Dirge,” is a beautiful song, here in a slow tender rendition that echoes the Eureka Brass Band recording of 1951. “Westlawn Dirge” is a standard that somehow disappeared from the repertoire of street funerals as the years passed. Most of the young brass bands don’t play it because the musicians never heard it in school. There is no jazz education system in most of the public schools.

I know you don’t want a 30-second public service spot hammering home the message that The City Where Jazz Began doesn’t teach the story of America’s native art form to its young students, but it needs to be said. Dr. Michael White, among other exponents of New Orleans Style, has often remarked that music students in Japanese universities come to New Orleans with a better grounding in the jazz fundamentals form than most young players here. Teach the music and its history to students here and the homicide count will go down, and test scores go up..."

Tuesday, June 9, 2009