Preservation hall jazz band tour schedule
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Opened in 1961 to preserve the rich and vibrant history of New Orleans Jazz, Preservation Hall, located in the city’s French Quarter, was one of the first venues to welcome both Caucasian and African-American musicians. Soon after the venue’s invent Preservation Hall Jazz Band was formed hosting an esteemed group of local musicians which would prove popular with residents and tourists the world over. Showcasing the likes of Kid Thomas Valentine, Punch Miller, Louis Nelson, Jim Robinson, Joseph Robichaux, Billie Pierce, Percy Humphrey, George Lewis, Sweet Emma Barrett, and Willie Humphrey, the band’s early members represented the jazz elite.
Looking to expand their profile and promote themselves further afield, comprised of Kid Thomas Valentine, George Lewis, Louis Nelson, Emanuel Paul, Joe James, Joe Butler, and Sammy Penn, the band began touring in 1963. The band’s first live performance outside of Louisiana came in the midwest, with a notable show at the Guthrie Theater. The tour led to a revival of interest in New Orleans jazz, and subsequently a tour of Japan in 1964.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s musical recordings have honoured the traditions of New Orleans for over four decades, producing their most successful output under the leadership of Sweet Emma Barrett and the
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out now
CHARLIE GABRIEL’S 89
RECORDED IN NEW ORLEANS DURING PANDEMIC VENUE CLOSURES AND CANCELLATIONS, ‘89’ IS A CELEBRATION OF CHARLIE GABRIEL’S EXTRAORDINARY LIFE IN MUSIC.
Preservation Hall Presents
89
Charlie Gabriel’s debut album
Charlie Gabriel has been a musician for over 75 years. “I’ve been playing since I was 11 years old,” he says. “I never did anything in my life but play music. I’ve been blessed with that gift that God gave me, and I’ve tried to nurse it the best way I knew how.” As a teenager living in Detroit, he played in Lionel Hampton’s band, which also included a young Charles Mingus, and later spent nine years with a group led by drummer J.C. Heard. Still later, he toured with Aretha Franklin and played with many other pop and R&B artists. He’s lived and worked in Germany and Singapore, too, but he always knew he’d find his way back to New Orleans, the city of his birth.
Since 2006, he’s been a member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and has developed a tight musical relationship with the group’s bassist and tuba player, Ben Jaffe. The two men, along with guitarist Joshua Starkman, recorded Charlie’s new album 89 throughout 2020 and 2021.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is our rendition of THE BLACK NATI
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