American Legacies: Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Del McCoury Band
Recorded in 1964:
Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2CD)
Released in 2009:
New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 - Buy It HERE!
PHJB on NPR!
PRESERVATION Preview on All Songs Considered!
PHJB on WNYC!
Welcome to Made In New Orleans!
Hello everyone and welcome to the Preservation Hall Made in New Orleans Blog! We put this up with the intentions of creating a dialogue with you about New Orleans Music & Culture and latest happenings of Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Each week, we will post on a variety of topics; everything from what’s been happening here at the Hall, features on Preservation Hall musicians of the past/present, responses to your questions/comments, and personal accounts of life in our fair city of New Orleans. We’d like for you to contribute your stories and memoirs as well. Tell us about that time you stumbled off Bourbon Street and into the Hall and saw Billie & Dede Pierce in 1963. Or maybe that time when the Preservation Hall Band played in your hometown. Tell us your New Orleans story. We welcome it.
Have a lovely day. We look forward to hearing from you.
Here is a great fan video from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's performance at WGBH's Summer Arts Weekend in Boston. Big shout out goes to Alexander Ortiz Goico who filmed and edited the video! Thanks for your creativity and support!
Entitled St. Peter and 57th (September 25th,
Rounder Records), the album will feature a number of special guests from
an assortment of genres including,Features guests such
as George Wein, Del McCoury Band, Allen Toussaint, Ed
Helms, GIVERS, Steve Earle, Tao Seeger, My Morning
Jacket, Trombone Shorty, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), King
Britt, Blind Boys of Alabama, and Merrill
Garbus of tUnE-yArDs
In commemoration and
celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the iconic venue Preservation Hall, the
prolific New Orleans jazz legends Preservation Hall Jazz Band are set to
release a live recording of the band's acclaimed January 7th performance at
Carnegie Hall.
Rehearsal--Photo by Howard Lambert
The concert was
orchestrated to benefit the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program, directly supporting the passing of the musical and cultural traditions of
New Orleans to the city's next generation of musicians. A portion of the
proceeds from the album will also benefit the program.
The band is also
sharing "St. James Infirmary, Part 1" featuring My Morning Jacket's
Jim James, which just premiered on Pitchfork.
The Preservation Hall Junior Jazz Band performed at the Superdome this weekend at the ELCA Youth Gathering. The band opened for Switchfoot and performed to an audience of over 35,000 people. We couldn't be more proud of the PHJrJB!
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band just wrapped up several performances at this years Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. The band had an amazing performance on the festival's main stage with an excellent audience turnout! PHJB had special guests sit in during their set, including Jim James from My Morning Jacket and Andrew Bird.
Later that night, PHJB sat in with My Morning Jacket during the Festival's closing set.
Photo by Matt Jordan
There was an after party once the festival wrapped up aboard the Belle of Louisville. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and My Morning Jacket performed to a sold out show. The energy aboard the Belle was tangible!
New Orleans Residents Get Free Admission for the 3rd Show, Wednesdays and Saturdays
Now through August 31st, Preservation Hall is proud to
announce that New Orleans Residents have free admission to the third
show on Wednesdaysd Saturdays. To take advantage of our summer special,
bring your local ID or Entergy bill down to Preservation Hall, located
at 726 St. Peter Street, in the Heart of the Quarter. Can’t make it in
on a Wednesday or Saturday? We are still offering New Orleans Residents
2-for-1 admission, now through August 31st. It's the perfect opportunity to be a tourist in your own hometown.
Clarinetist, saxophonist, and flutist Charlie Gabriel is a
fourth-generation jazz musician from New Orleans. Raised in a
classically trained musical family that emigrated from Santo Domingo in
the 1850s, Gabriel began playing clarinet professionally with the Eureka
Jazz Band when he was eleven years old. During World War II, his
father, clarinetist and drummer Martin Manuel Manny Gabriel often sent
his son as a substitute on gigs. Charlie recalls how the musicians with
whom he played ”T-Boy Remy, Kid Humphrey, Kid Sheik, Kid Shots, Kid
Clayton, and Kid Howard” also raised him and brought him home after the
gigs.
In a career spanning countless genres, Gabriel has performed with Tony
Bennett, Frankie Avalon, Brenda Lee, Mary Wells, Aretha Franklin , Eddie
Willis, Joe Hunter, and many other early Motown artists. Gabriel sums
up the influence of his fellow musicians, "many, many people inside of
me that I have rubbed shoulders with, and I got something from each one
of them. It's all wrapped up inside of me, and by me still playing today
and still able to go around the universe, I give to them all these
other things I have from those that I have came in contact with"
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band are hitting the road soon for a string of exciting performances. They maybe passing through your town!
We've finally hit the middle of the Summer season, which means the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is well into tour season. Two exciting performances coming up are the Newport Folk Festival (7/28) and the Newport Jazz Festival (8/3). It is a rare opportunity for the Hall Band to perform both festivals. There will also be a performance by the Tao Seeger Brass Band, including members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Our dear friend and bass drummer for the Treme Brass Band, Uncle Lionel Batiste, has passed away this past weekend. The Preservation Hall family misses Uncle Lionel and we send our condolences to his family and fellow Treme Brass Band members.
By Keith Spera of The Times-Picayune
"Uncle" Lionel Batiste, the Treme Brass Band’s longtime bass drummer
and a beloved, dapper character who reveled in charming women of all
ages on the dance floor, died early Sunday at Ochsner Baptist Medical
Center after a brief battle with cancer. He was 80.
Mr. Batiste was an iconic figure in the brass band community and the
larger world of New Orleans music. With his omnipresent sunglasses, a
wristwatch worn across his hand, and his kazoo, he literally moved to
the beat of his own drum.
In the traditional brass band cap, white shirt and black tie, Mr.
Batiste appeared in numerous commercials and TV shows, including HBO's
"Treme." He was also featured on the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage
Festival presented by Shell's souvenir Congo Square poster by artist
Terrance Osborne.
Many local musicians cite him as a role model. Trumpeter Kermit
Ruffins has referred to Mr. Batiste as “my total influence,” who
taught Ruffins “how to act, how to dress and how to feel about life."
“Inside Uncle Lionel’s bass drum," said fellow drummer Herman LeBeaux, "is the pulse of the city."
NOMA presents "Ralston Crawford and Jazz,"
an exhibition that considers the relationships between music,
photography, painting, drawing and film as they intersect in Crawford’s
work in New Orleans. Organized by the Sheldon Art Galleries, in Saint
Louis, MO, the exhibition includes over 150 photographs, prints,
paintings, drawings and films, many never before published.
WHERE Y'ART?!: OPENING CELEBRATION: RALSTON CRAWFORD AND JAZZ WITH DR. MICHAEL WHITE
Friday, June 22nd, 5pm to 9pm
THE RALSTON CRAWFORD AND JAZZ EXHIBIT will be open until October 14th.
As the 34th annual Playboy Jazz Festival wrapped up on Sunday, Bill Cosby danced across the stage to play his final solo beneath the iconic bunny.
“It’s my last time here,” he announced to the applauding crowd, which
filled the Hollywood Bowl to the last bleacher. “And I’m gonna give you
something you’ve never heard before. Take it back to the bridge!”
Cosby grabbed a trombone from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, who followed his order with upbeat, New Orleans-style jazz.
The comedian tapped his foot, held the instrument to his mouth, threw his head back — and abruptly pulled it into two pieces.
Ben Jaffe will be stepping down from his bandstand tuba position to stick around New Orleans in anticipation of his first child, due this summer. Jaffe will continue to be part of the team, continuing his role as Creative Director of Preservation Hall.
Raised by a musical family in New Orleans, Johnson
started playing trumpet and piano around the age of 6. Four years later, Johnson increased his
musicianship and taught himself how to play the trombone, tuba, organ,
saxophone, drums, and more. He
began performing professionally at the age of 12. To deepen his musical education, he attended New Orleans
Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)
and majored in music at Southern University at New Orleans. Johnson became Jaffe's protege,
studying under him at NOCCA.
The Johnson
family are no strangers to Preservation Hall Jazz Band, as his great uncle is
Joseph “Kid Twat” Butler who played string bass with the legendary Kid Thomas
Valentine and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He is additionally a member of his family's brass band
Coolbone (comprised of his 3 brothers, 2 uncles, and 4 cousins) and has toured
with David Byrne, Ben Harper, Spearhead, Busta Rhymes, Counting Crows, De La
Soul and other.
Life can be measured by the things on your
"bucket list" and the things you never knew were on there in the first
place. They include those truly memorable nights in your life that when
someone asks about them, or when something reminds you, you can't help
but pause for a moment and smile.
One of those nights happened
for me in New Orleans a year ago with my sisters. After a great meal on a
balmy night, we sat down and heard some live jazz. It was real, New
Orleans jazz — in the heart of the French Quarter.
The music, beats and
improvisation were so infectious that the slapping of my hands on the
tops of my thighs would later turn to bruises. I slapped with such gusto
that I couldn't help myself.
I tried to be more careful Sunday night at Red Butte Garden as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band took the stage, but it was hard.
The large band, clad in attire
that could pass for costumes from the movie "Men In Black," delicately
wailed — if that's possible — from one classic to the next.
Kicking it off with "They Come
to Play" and "On the Bayou," the band, featuring guitar, mandolin,
banjo, fiddle, clarinet, piano and plenty of brass, talked little and
played a lot and seemed to have a fantastic time doing so.
In a joint effort, much like
the CD released in 2011, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band played with the
Del McCoury band, creating a night of vintage New Orleans jazz, with a
little bit of classic bluegrass sprinkled in...
Check out July's issue of Downbeat. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has a lovely feature, including interviews with Ben Jaffe, Clint Maedgen, and Charlie Gabriel.
The Pres Hall family is introducing a new giveaway series titled, TUBA TUESDAY GIVEAWAY! We will be giving away Rare and Unique Hall Memorabilia every Tuesday. The giveaways include:
This is what New Orleans music is all about – sacred, profane, jubilant,
solemn, loose, funky and fun. Drawing talent from the full cast of
players featured in Preservation Hall’s nightly performances, this CD
faithfully recreates the verve an energy for which the venue has become
so well known.
Featuring an expanded lineup of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Shake
That Thing is a joyous celebration of over 40 years of New Orleans jazz
tradition. Adding such New Orleans jazz luminaries as trumpeter Leroy
Jones, clarinetist Dr. Michael White, and drummer Shannon Powell, the
band powers through several standards and traditional tunes that easily
rate as some of the most raucous, funky, and happy tracks to come out of
Preservation Hall. From Don Vappie's patois vocals on "Eh la Bas" to
the gospel-meets-street beat of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," most of the
various New Orleans musical styles are covered here. This is relevant,
rootsy jazz that deserves to be heard well beyond the confines of the
institution it sprang from.
Preservation Hall Sound Engineer, Earl Scioneaux III, will be recording a Daft Punk tribute album this Summer. Scioneaux's unique twist lies in the translation between his Daft Punk arrangements and the brass band musicians performing the music. Scioneaux is funding his project through donations generated by his BRASSFT PUNK KICKSTARTER account. Donations will end on 6/15 at 6:00PM.
"Daft Punk seemed an obvious choice - their music is great, it's
accessible and widely known, and it's super danceable. What better way
to reformat their tunes than the irresistible funky goodness of a New
Orleans brass band?"
"I plan to arrange Daft Punk's 4 biggest hits
for brass band. I've already written the arrangement for Harder,
Better, Faster, Stronger. The other 3 tunes I'll be doing are: One More
Time, Around the World, and Da Funk."-Earl Scioneaux III
The World Cafe will be re-broadcasting this session on
Monday, June 11, 2012 in coordination with the new week-long New
Orleans edition of our "Sense of Place" series. Select affiliates will
air the show additionally on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host
David Dye can be heard on over 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station and broadcast time at the following link:
Highly Anticipated Return To Stern Grove Festival (SF, CA) in conjunction with
their 50th Anniversary Celebration
Band to
Perform Sunday, July 1st at 2pm
Once a Stern
Grove staple, this year will mark the band's first return to the festival in
the past 5 years. Billie and De
De Pierce's Preservation Hall Band were the first Preservation Hall Band to
play there in 1969, where it became an annual tradition until 1999. In 2007, Preservation Hall Jazz Band
performed again at Stern Grove, led by trumpeter John Brunious (uncle to
current Preservation Hall Jazz Band trumpeter Mark Braud).
Stern Grove
Festival will be celebrating their 75th Season of Concerts this year
as well. In celebration of their
anniversary, Preservation Hall Jazz Band have been commissioned to compose and
perform a piece of music. The song
will reference the festival's tradition of “the waving of the pink section,” in
which audience members wave the SF Chronicle's Sunday Datebook in the air. The tradition began with the band's
former trombone player, Jim Robinson and his legendary waving of his white
handkerchief.
To all the hip New Yorkers and neighboring Pres Hall family. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band are making their returning visit to your Eastern metropolis since their devastating 50th Anniversary performance at Carnegie Hall, which was this past January.
Our only question is...
ARE YOU READY FOR MORE?
JOIN the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (#PHJB) on Broadway at the Symphony Space on JUNE 13th (8PM) and experience the magic only found in the BIG EASY!
During Jazz Fest, we had the pleasure of attending a Pandora town hall meeting at Hotel Monteleone with Pandora founder, Tim Westergren. At the meeting, Tim spoke about the roots and origins of the most successful internet radio company. Needless to say, what Tim had to say was inspiring, while clearly representing the true risks of starting an entrepreneurial venture. Tim made Pandora successful with a lot of resources, but mainly heart. Preservation Hall shares this value, as we were once an entrepreneurial venue 50 years ago.
Tim Westergren, Found of Pandora
"At Pandora, we have a single mission: To play only music you'll love.
(OK, we've added comedy as well so we're also up for playing some jokes
you'll love.)"-Pandora.com
"With Pandora you can explore this vast trove of music to your heart's
content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs, artists or
genres into
Pandora and let the Music Genome Project go. It will
quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of
popular recordings - new and old,
well known and completely obscure - to find songs with
interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy
as it creates a listening
experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs
for you."-Pandora.com
If you haven't already, check out Pandora.com and create a free account! We would love to see our distant relatives (you) create a Preservation Hall Jazz Band station.
Howdy y'all! The Preservation Hall Jazz Band just wrapped up a successful performance in Black Mountain, NC at the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF). Let me tell you, LEAF is no ordinary arts festival. LEAF sets itself aside from other festivals in that the focus is on community, education, and a need for social change.
Photo by David Simchock
Photo by Howard Lambert
LEAF: Connecting Cultures & Creating Community Through Music & Arts. LEAF
is a non-profit organization established to build community and enrich
lives through the Arts – locally and globally – with festivals,
community events, and arts in education programs.
Photo by Howard Lambert
Arts in Education OUTREACH Programs LEAF in Schools & Streets:Empowering Youth Through Festive Arts in Our Local Community.
LEAF
in Schools & Streets (LSS) is an educational outreach program
matching artists with youth in schools and communities for hands-on
workshops, residencies, interactive performances and mentoring that
includes opportunities for youth to perform with the artists at LEAF-
and beyond.
Photo by David Simchock
The members of the PHJB were quite inspired by this unique arts collection and felt that these values and acts of social entrepreneurship is what the artistic community should strive for. The idea is bigger than just one event, it's creating a prosperous and creative future for our young ones.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
with Special Appearances by members of My Morning Jacket
presented by Bell’s
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be performing at FORECASTLE FESTIVAL in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, July 14th.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band began in New Orleans in 1961 and has
traveled worldwide spreading their mission to nurture and perpetuate the
art form of New Orleans Jazz. The music embodies a joyful, timeless
spirit that is unique to the culture and flair of New Orleans.
This
rich Louisiana tradition will create a once-in-a-lifetime experience
onboard the historic Belle of Louisville
as members of My Morning Jacket will join them on stage after their
Saturday night headlining performance. Rest assured the boat will be a
rockin’ so don’t miss your chance to join in!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
12:00AM Doors, 12:30AM Show
Belle of Louisville
$50.00 plus fees, All Ages
On Sale Saturday, May 19 at Noon EST
The Pres Hall family is introducing a new giveaway series titled, TUBA TUESDAY GIVEAWAY! We will be giving away Rare and Unique Hall Memorabilia every Tuesday. The giveaways include:
Today's free track is entitled, Milenberg Joys, featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Ronnie McCoury (Mandolin) from The Del McCoury Band. The instrumental recording is from the 2011 release, AMERICAN LEGACIES: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The Del McCoury Band
1. The Band’s In Town
2. One Has My Name
3. Shoeshine Blues
4. Banjo Frisco
5. A Good Gal
6. Jambalaya
7. I’ll Fly Away
8. You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry
9. The Sugar Blues
10. Milenberg Joys
11. 50/50 Chance
12. One More Fore I Die
About AMERICAN LEGACIES
Blending jazz from the streets and music halls and clubs of New Orleans
and beyond with bluegrass from rural festivals, school auditoriums and
more restrained settings, American Legacies presents two giants of
traditional American music—the Del McCoury Band and the Preservation
Hall Jazz Band—in one spirited stream of deliciously inviting, boldly
innovative and yet profoundly familiar music.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band just wrapped up a wonderful performance at ArtsQuest River Jazz Festival in Bethlehem, PA this past weekend. During the band's performance, a life long Preservation Hall fan by the name of Chris Carter, painted several on-the-spot portraits of the PHJB musicians. Ms. Carter's renderings are too spiritual to keep to ourselves, so with her permission (as well as the musicians), I'd like to share them with you today!
Freddie Lonzo, Mark Braud, and Charlie Gabriel of the PHJB
"Last night I attended the performance of the Preservation Hall Jazz
Band. The first time I saw them was when I was eight years old. I am
now 60. It was a fabulous experience. During the performance, I
created several drawings/paintings of the musicians and would like to
share them with those musicians. I also want to thank the musicians for
giving me permission to paint during the performance."-Chris Carter
Rickie Monie of the PHJB
"My goal is to express the rhythms and the great energy of the
musicians. I especially like the ink drawing of Rickie Monie as he
played His eye is on the sparrow."-Chris Carter
Jeffery Hills playing Tuba
Please visit Chris Carter's WEBSITE for more paintings
Also check out Chris Carter's BLOG for more of his work
Everyone at the Hall is in ecstatic shock to the overwhelming love and support we've been receiving over the past couple of weeks. We are relieved that the chaos from the festival season is over, but we are on the edges of our seats to see the receding effects. In the mean time, the Hall family would love to share with you our top 10 moments during this Jazz Fest season, 2012.
1. Lionel Ferbos and Wendell Eugene perform with the Preservation Hall Junior Jazz Band at Jazz Fest
Sometimes the saying, 'history repeats itself' can be taken as a true gift of time and human potential. I witnessed this on the side of the Gentilly stage as 100 year old Lionel Ferbos (trumpet) and 89 year old Wendell Eugene (Trombone) joined the PHJB and the Preservation Hall Junior Jazz Band to help close out the show. Watching from the side of the stage, I was witnessing the true life cycle of traditional New Orleans' music. After the show, one of Ferbos' family members said that he has been playing music for over 83 years now. Lionel and Wendell's performing history only makes me think of the potential vitality that exists in all of the Junior Jazz Band players. The thought is overwhelming and comforting at the same time.
2. George Wein with the PHJB opening the Gentilly performance with Basin Street Blues
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival founder, George Wein helped open the PHJB's Gentilly performance. Although Preservation Hall is celebrating 50 years, our hats go off to George Wein, who has facilitated Jazz events for over 50 years nation wide. When jazz is in need of a spot light, George collectivizes and presents the art form like no other producer. Thank you Mr. Wein.
3. The Times Picayune-'Global Force'
The entire Pres Hall family was exhausted the day after the PHJB closed out Jazz Fest, until we saw this very flattering front page spread on Monday's issue of The Times-Picayune. This front page spread was revitalizing and goes to show that doing the right things for the right reasons, combined with hard work, always proves to be eternally triumphant.
4. Theresa Andersson's Midnight Preserves performance of 'Japanese Art'
We do not have footage of Theresa Andersson with the Hall Band, but I can tell you that her set was magical and complimenting. The Hall family was most impressed by her song, 'Japanese Art.'
5. Ivan Neville's performance of 'Down By the Riverside' at The Preservation Hall Crescent City Revue
Ivan Neville brought his energy and skills to the joy theater with his rendition of 'Down By the Riverside.'
6. Steve Earle's Midnight Preserves performance of 'This City'
Although we do not have any footage of Steve Earle's Midnight Preserves performance, one of the Hall Family's favorite highlights was witnessing Steve's version of 'This City' backed by the PHJB.
7. Danny Clinch 'Silver and Brass Exhibit' at Preservation Hall
Our good friend, Danny Clinch, performed at the Hall twice with his band, the Tangiers Blues Band, during our Midnight Preserves showcase. Before the performance we displayed Danny's favorite New Orleans and Hall related photos in the Hall's Carriage way.
“I could feel the spirit of all the music that passed through there,” photographer and musician Danny Clinch
said of the first time he entered the Preservation Hall in New Orleans.
"I immediately started taking photographs." And he hasn't stopped since
2005.
8. New Birth Brass Band's tribute to the great Olympia Brass Band
During Jazz Fest, New Birth Birth Brass Band paid tribute to the great Olympia Brass Band. The energy of New Birth bled through the ancient floors of the Hall and brought forth a spirit connecting the audience in a way that only a few a handful of brass bands can muster.
9. RONELL JOHNSON GOING NUTS at Jazz Fest!
Photo by John McCusker
I was helping out backstage on the Gentilly Stage during the PHJB's closing performance. Most of the viewing audience were blown away by the guest performers, but my sights were dead set on Ronell Johnson, a true tuba rock star. Not only does Ronell blast clear and defined bass lines through such a large brass instrument, but he also jumps up and down while playing, sways his left arm back and forth, and dance marches as if he were in a second line. Ronell played this way the entire show and proved to leave a devastating mark in the audience's spirits. Can somebody get this man a towel?
10. This David Lee Roth-esque photo of Ronnie Numbers from the New Orleans BINGO! Show
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