Tuba player Ben Jaffe, tenor sax player Clint Maedgen and clarinetist Charlie Gabriel brought New Orleans music to life as part of the Austin City Limits music festival Sunday night.
Monday, October 5, 2009 |
"The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was the perfect band to close the Wildflower Center stage at the Austin City Limits Music Festival Sunday. With pure delight emanating from the dancing audience, the eight-piece band brought the full magic and history of New Orleans music to life with energy and passion that underscores music as the universal language that tames even the mud-caked beasts.Many in the audience were unable to contain themselves in chairs and rushed to the front of the stage to dance and sing along as the first few tunes caught fire. In sweat-soaked grey suits and ties, the band members grinned at the audience and smiled at each other, happy for the chance to share their music with fans who really love the genre.
The band started out hot and ended steaming, with a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “Ol’ Man Mose,” and their own versions of essentials “Tailgate Ramble,” “Shimmy,” “Sugar Blues” and “Mama Don’t Want .” Standouts included Walter Payton singing “Shimmy” with his head thrown back, eyes closed and a grin across his face during pauses. The man and the music conjured up every ghost great of New Orleans past in memory.
Members of the band that graced the Wildflower stage on Sunday night were Ben Jaffe on tuba, Charlie Gabriel on clarinet, Payton on string bass, Clint Maedgen on tenor sax, Mark Braud on trumpet, Rickie Monie on keyboard, Freddie Lonzo on trombone and Joe Lastie on drums. These eight men are on a mission, and that mission delivers a big slice of heaven on earth to those lucky enough to catch a live performance. They want to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans jazz. Judging from Sunday night’s performance, they’ve got the pipes to do just that..."
GIVE AWAY ICE CREAM AT ACL
Posted on Oct 5th 2009 11:45AM by Michael D. Ayers
"With soaring costs of tickets, food and beverages, it's rare to get anything for free at a concert, so it was a rare treat when the Preservation Hall Jazz Band made sure their Austin City Limits audience didn't go away empty handed. During the classic song 'Ice Cream,' where the New Orleans band sings the "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream," line, a cooler on the side stage was opened and the horn section broke out several boxes of ice cream sandwiches, cones and fruit bars and tossed them out into the crowd. And it was a simple but popular gesture, as people were literally screaming for these handouts.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band proved to be a big draw for those who wanted to dance to some of the finest traditional Dixieland jazz ever written. Opening with their timeless classic 'Bourbon Street Parade,' the group set the tone for their hour-long set by playing upbeat and energetic numbers, making for a Mardi Gras feel in the mud of Zilker Park. And the group was pretty excited to play, as trumpet player Mark Braud explained "our [New Orleans] Saints gave the Jets a good old fashioned butt-whooping today."
Other highlights included the soulful ballad 'My Sweet Substitute' and a playful version of 'I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate.' The Preservation Hall Jazz Band are touring the US and Europe now through January 2010."
Live review: Preservation Jazz Hall Band
"If you were among the discriminating cognoscenti who partook of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s set at the Wildflower Stage on Sunday night, you have a right to strut a bit. You were, after all, among the couple of thousand or so folks (yeah, I’m talking about you, you Dan Auerbach and Spearhead fans) who weren’t climbing each other’s shoulders for a glimpse of Girl Talk or queuing up for Pearl Jam. There is more to life than headline acts.
And no matter how many chart-toppers ACL books, I hope there will always be room for acts like PHJB. They are among those heirloom performers who carry the torch and maintain the foundations for all the myriad acts that populate the ACL stages.
They’re a barrel of fun, to boot. A multi-generational array of jazz men, they’ve been spreading the gospel of classic New Orleans jazz and Dixieland since Preservation Hall opened its doors in the French Quarter in 1961. Today, the group is helmed by Benjamin Jaffe, the son of Allan Jaffe, who helmed the first incarnation of PHJB. But though the players change (though the virtuosity seemingly does not), the repertoire remains a timeless blend of rags, jump blues, brass band music, Dixieland, hot jazz and American standards..."
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