Since the 1950s, the Preservation Hall has been a major venue for the traditional jazz music sound for which the city of New Orleans is famous. The place itself is simple and unassuming, located in a decrepit building in the French Quarter. There, music-lovers sit on hard wooden benches with no amenities or refreshments. They are rewarded with performances by some of the greatest names in traditional jazz, as well as modernists who are carrying on the legacy of that early era in the birthplace of jazz. In the former category are luminaries such as
Willie Humphrey on trumpet and vocals and his brother,
Percy Humphrey, on clarinet. These musicians, along with Kid Sheik Cola on trumpet, are some of the senior members of the band. Younger musicians carrying the torch forward include Dr. Michael White on clarinet,
Wendell Brunious on trumpet, and
Greg Stafford on cornet and vocals. Young and old,
the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's constituents pour their collective talents into some of the best-loved music of a bygone era. They start right in with "Hindustan" and "Tishomingo Blues," then serve up the popular "Ice Cream" ("I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream"). Other standouts include "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet," "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place," "Savoy Blues," and "Burgundy Street Blues." The band plays the spiritual "Lily of the Valley" in a reverential tone and goes out on a joyous note with the perennial favorite "When the Saints Go Marching In." You can't get any more New Orleans than this. ~ Rose of Sharon Witmer