Preservation Brass is the resident brass band affiliated with Preservation Hall, the storied French Quarter venue founded in 1961 to protect, preserve, and perpetuate traditional New Orleans jazz. Following in the footsteps of the great Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, Preservation Brass plays the traditional jazz repertoire the Hall was built on, distinct from the touring Preservation Hall Jazz Band led by Ben Jaffe, which leans further into soul and funk. Preservation Brass is the band most likely to be found at the Hall itself or parading through the streets of the French Quarter, and holds a standing Monday night residency at the venue.
The band is led by trumpeters Mark Braud and Kevin Louis. Braud, who began his career with the Olympia Kids — an offshoot of the Olympia Brass Band for younger musicians — went on to gig, record, and tour with the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Eddie Bo, Henry Butler, Harry Connick Jr., and Dr. Michael White before becoming a Preservation Hall bandleader. His family carries deep New Orleans jazz roots: his grandfather was composer and trumpeter John "Picket" Brunious Sr.
In 2025, Preservation Brass released their Grammy-nominated debut album, For Fat Man, a joyful collection of traditional jazz standards from the brass band canon. The record is dedicated to Kerry "Fat Man" Hunter, the percussionist who played bass drum on the album and was a longtime stalwart at Preservation Hall. The album reflects the Hall's broader mission — caring for elder musicians and treating tradition not as a static body of knowledge, but as a living bond between generations of practitioners.
