The iconic New Orleans traditional jazz band is having a record setting year. Among other successes, they are celebrating 50 years since current musical director Ben Jaffe’s father established the French Quarter landmark.
So it’s fitting that tonight at 8 PM at Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street, the band is celebrating not one, but two new releases.
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the state-of-the-art studios in 2005, Preservation Hall producer and musician Ben Jaffe (son of original producer, Preservation Hall Jazz Band member and founder Allan Jaffe) was able to recover many of the tapes and restore a portion of the music.
The 50th Anniversary collection is a monster—four discs, 58 tracks including five previously unissued tracks that were recorded at Allen Toussaint’s Sea-Saint Studios over the years: “In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)” (1967); “Precious Lord” (1970); “C. C. Rider” (1981); and “I Get The Blues When It Rains” and “Nellie Grey” (both 1986).
St. Peter and 57th Street a live recording of the band’s acclaimed January 7th performance at Carnegie Hall (hence the title referencing the location of the two iconic halls). The album features a number of special guests from an assortment of genres including 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.
Photo: Danny Clinch
