The Best of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter.

The building, located at 726 St. Peter Street, was erected in 1750 as a private residence. It has survived the Great New Orleans Fires of 1788 and, another in 1794, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in the French Quarter. Before becoming Preservation Hall it housed many businesses including a tavern during the War of 1812, a photo studio and an art gallery. It was during the years of the art gallery that then owner Larry Borenstein began holding informal jam sessions for his close friends. Out of these sessions grew the concept of Preservation Hall.

A young tuba player named Allan Jaffe took over running the hall in 1961 and began organizing tours for the musicians who often performed there, naming the band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band after the venue. Many of the band's charter members performed with the pioneers who invented jazz in the early twentieth century.

The tracks on the album "The Best of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band" were recorded between 1976-1987 and include many of the numbers that have been the favorites of their audiences around the world, including jazz classics like "The Tiger Rag" and "Bucket's Got a Hole in It" which have been played by French Quarter musicians since 1890 when Buddy Bolden and Happy Galloway were uptown favorites, on down through Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Bunk Johnson.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band usually performs nightly at Preservation Hall and tours around the world for more than 150 days a year. Despite the fame of the institution, admittance is affordable, being $10 as of January 2009.

Founder Allan Jaffe's son Ben Jaffe now leads and performs with the band.