Performance Review: The LAist Reviews PHJB at The Hollywood Bowl, 08/18/10

Neville Brothers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ Hollywood Bowl 8/18/10
Preservation Hall Jazz Band are one of the city’s oldest institutions, formed in the early sixties with the express purpose of keeping old jazz alive, right at the time when such a notion couldn’t have been more unhip. But they’ve remained active, as both a band and a building, ever since, preaching the tradition of the Armstrong era. I’ve seen them a handful of times, including in their current Bourbon Street home, and figured we were in for a predictable, toe-tapping half hour or so of good old Dixieland music, and the first four or five songs seemed to bear that notion out. No matter how often those old songs get repeated, they’re still a treat to hear when played by masters of the craft.

But the second half of the program, a collaboration with modern dance troupe the Trey McIntyre Project, was shockingly powerful. The first few pieces were fun and upbeat, and worked surprisingly well - skeletons dancing around to “Heebie Jeebies” and that sort of thing. But the fourth piece was a funeral dirge, played at an unearthly slow tempo, and it became evident that the skeletal figures were re-enacting Hurricane Katrina - I saw a flash of a man perched on the roof of his house as another went floating past, after which every image resonated with footage of the disaster. This was followed by dances to a series of old spirituals, some performed with just a voice and a tambourine (which I believe to be by Sister Gertrude Morgan, whose record was released on Preservation Hall Records and has recently has been rediscovered thanks to an update from hip-hop producer King Britt, leading to the use of her "New World In My View" on HBO’s True Blood.)

It was unexpected, audacious and while I can hardly claim to be a modern dance expert, on an emotional level I have to rate that performance as one of the most stunning I’ve seen all year. It’s impressive that current leader Ben Jaffe, son of original founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe, has found a way to do something genuinely modern, so successfully, while continuing to honor the music they were founded on.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Preservation Hall on Fox News-Crescent City Music Rising

In observance of the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Fox News visited New Orleans and Preservation Hall. Click the photo above to view interviews with Preservation Hall's Carl LeBlanc and Rickie Monie.

Five Years Later, a Musical Post-Storm Retrospective from NPR

It's been five long years since the catastrophic failure of the Federal levee system in New Orleans incited an exodus and diaspora that called into question the resiliency of our culture and collective soul. Please take a few minutes to listen to All Things Considered's conversation with Nick Spitzer of American Routes as they discuss what we've gained and what we've lost, how we've grown and where we are today, all through the prism of one of our most vital natural resources: Music.

Additionally, be sure to check out American Routes this weekend on your local NPR outlet, or online at www.AmericanRoutes.org as Mr. Spitzer holds court through conversation and song with a variety of New Orleans natives and musicians about their lives after the storm. The program will feature tracks from Dejan's Olympia Brass Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, as well as "It Ain't My Fault" by the Gulf Aid Allstars!

MMJ talks Charity and New Orleans

My Morning Jacket talks to Causecast about being mislabeled when they started, donating $1 from every ticket of every show to a local charity, working with Air Traffic Control to learn about the good local charities, and how New Orleans is the creative music center of the universe.

"It Ain't My Fault" Remix Contest

Preservation Hall and Gulf Aid call on artists worldwide to create remixes of the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis anthem “It Ain’t My Fault”

On May 12th, 2010, Mos Def and Preservation Hall’s Ben Jaffe met in New Orleans to collaborate on a song to benefit The Gulf Relief Foundation, an organization providing relief for those affected by the Gulf oil spill catastrophe.

In an all-night jam session less than 12 hours later, they recorded the song at Preservation Hall with the newly formed Gulf Aid Allstars: Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, Trombone Shorty, Tim Robbins and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

The result: a remake of the New Orleans rhythm and blues classic “It Ain’t My Fault”.

Originally written and composed by legendary New Orleans artists Wardell Quezergue and Smokey Johnson, this exciting new version of the New Orleans brass band standard features poignant lyrics by hip-hop superstar Mos Def protesting the passing-of-blame for what is now the largest environmental catastrophe in U.S. history. Backed by the horns of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Trombone Shorty, along with the deft guitar work of Lenny Kravitz, "It Ain't My Fault" sings as an anthem of dissent in the midst of this ever-expanding crisis.

The track and accompanying music video of the session are now available for download exclusively on iTunes with all proceeds to benefit The Gulf Relief Foundation. As an extra incentive, your purchase of the single gets you a free 1-year subscription to Spin Magazine, just enter your iTunes receipt number at SPIN.COM/PreservationHall

Since the release of the track, the collaborations continue. Response to the cause and the track have spawned remixes of “It Ain’t My Fault” by noted artists nationwide, including Mark Farina, Chuck Love, King Britt, and more.

Now it’s your turn to collaborate for the cause.

We’re now offering you the chance to engage the issue and the music artistically by giving you access to the music and allowing you to remix it with complete artistic freedom. Whether you are a singer, producer, dj, musician or all the above, make this track yours. All music must be 100% original content.

Visit: http://www.gulfaidremix.com/

All you have to do is visit the site and grab the stems for "It Ain’t My Fault".When you are finished with your remix, upload it! You and other fans can then vote on your favorite. Spread the Word!

About the Gulf Relief Foundation(Gulf Aid):
Gulf Aid, a 501(c3) nonprofit corporation, has been established in response to what has been called one of the biggest oil spills in history just 50 miles off of the Louisiana Coast. The mission of the Gulf Relief Foundation is to provide relief to the fishing community of the Gulf Coast and their families, and to address the long-term challenge of restoring and protecting America’s coastal wetlands.

Links:
http://www.gulfaidremix.com
http://www.gulfaid.org/
http://www.preservationhall.com/
http://www.mosdef.com
http://www.lennykravitz.com/
http://tromboneshorty.com/

PHJB in August Issue of Playboy Magazine!

It's true.  This month's Playboy Magazine features a fashion spread with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  Check out your favorite New Orleans Jazz Band decked to the nines at the Hall and at the St. Louis Cemetary.  And shot by photographer Danny Clinch no less.  Get your copy today!