Thursday, June 21, 2012

Ralston Crawford and Jazz Exhibit opening 6/22



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.

Bill Cosby joins Preservation Hall Jazz Band onstage at Playboy festival


-By

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.

“Thank you!” he yelled, walking away.



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuba Man, Ronell Johnson, Joins the Preservation Hall Jazz Band


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.  


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Heats Up

-By Eric Hansen of Deseret News

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...



Preservation Hall Jazz Band featured in Downbeat

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.


Get your hands on a copy HERE!


A special thanks goes out to Jennifer Odell for featuring the band and sharing Preservation Hall's history with the jazz community.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

TUBA TUESDAY GIVEAWAY! Free Track: Eh La Bas


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:
-A monthly FREE DOWNLOAD
-Giveaway contests through Preservation Hall's social networks (FACEBOOK and TWITTER)
-As well as contests through Pres Hall's MAILING LIST 
-Win vintage photos, posters, apparel, music and MUCH MORE!

If you haven't already, START FOLLOWING US! Keep your eyes open on Tuesday. You could very well be a winner!

TUBA TUESDAY GIVEAWAY: FREE TRACK
Eh La Bas from Shake That Thing (Rec. 2001)
Shake That Thing is Available on iTUNES ($7.92)
or
Purchase SHAKE THAT THING from Pres Hall's ONLINE STORE

Featured Musicians on Eh La Bas:
Don Vappie-Vocal/Banjo
John Brunious-Trumpet
Frank Demond-Trombone
Joe Lastie-Drums
Ben Jaffe-Bass
Rickie Monie-Piano

About Shake That Thing:
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. 

or

Earl Scioneaux to Release Brassft Punk


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.

Earl Scioneaux III Photo by Howard Lambert


"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



-Ars Technica, by Curt Hopkins

New developments:

Party/performance at Preservation Hall on Dec 15th, midnight - will
explore both electronic and acoustic music and feature, of course, a
performance of Brassft Punk

• Chicago artist Rob Loukotka will be bringing these amazing Daft Punk
replica helmets to the event for photo ops:

•Tickets & pre-orders of the record are available as rewards on
kickstarter.  The kickstarter campaign ends Friday, June 15.

• Multitrack stems of the record are available as an add-on option.
(great for mash-up/remix/dj stuff)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Re-Broadcast of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band on NPR's World Cafe

  World Cafe Broadcast Notification

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:


…or worldwide, fans can connect to the WXPN Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm EST, here:


Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available to stream from the World Cafe website:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Preservation Hall Jazz Band to make special performance at Stern Grove Festival


Preservation Hall Jazz Band Announce Their
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.
STERN GROVE IS A FREE ADMISSION FESTIVAL

PHJB Tour through Brazil and Argentina, 2012

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be touring through select cities in Brazil and Argentina from August 11th-18th.



BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA 2012 TOUR DATES:

-Aug. 11th, Ibrirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil

-Aug. 14th, Bourbon Street Music Club, São Paulo, Brazil

-Aug. 15th, Miranda Club, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

-Aug. 16th, Museu da Esplanada, Brasilia, Brazil

-Aug. 18th, La Trastienda, Buenos Aires, Argentina

MORE DATES AND VENUES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!