The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was formed in 1961 when Barbara and Allan Jaffe opened Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street in the French Quarter. Their mission was explicit: to preserve and perpetuate the traditional New Orleans jazz that was in danger of being forgotten as its original masters aged. The hall became the home, and the band became its voice.
In its early years the band featured legendary veterans of the jazz tradition — musicians who had been playing since the music's earliest days. As those masters passed, the band passed the torch carefully, maintaining the musical standards and the commitment to tradition that Allan Jaffe had established.
"Our job is to keep the music alive, not in a museum, but as a living, breathing thing."
— Ben Jaffe, Preservation Hall
Under the artistic direction of Ben Jaffe — Allan and Barbara's son, who grew up at the hall — the band has evolved while maintaining its essential character. They have collaborated with artists including the Grateful Dead, Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, and My Morning Jacket, demonstrating the music's vitality and adaptability without compromising its integrity.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band tours the world as ambassadors for New Orleans music, performing hundreds of shows a year while maintaining their residency at the hall. They are one of the great ongoing artistic institutions in American music, a living link to the origins of jazz.
