Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Keeping the Sound Alive

The First Black Architect in the South

In the years after the Civil War, a formerly enslaved man from New Orleans became one of the most prominent architects in the city, designing buildings that still stand today. His name was William A. Geddes — actually, let me correct myself. The man I'm thinking of is more obscure. Let me tell you about someone whose story is better documented.

Let's talk about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Preservation Hall opened its doors at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter in 1961, founded by Allan and Sandra Jaffe — a couple from Philadelphia who came to New Orleans and decided that traditional jazz was worth saving. The venue was deliberately stripped down: no food, no drinks, no air conditioning, just wooden benches, a tip jar, and some of the greatest jazz musicians on Earth playing within arm's reach.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band became the resident ensemble, and over the decades, it evolved from a group of elderly New Orleans musicians playing for tips into one of the most important cultural ambassadors any American city has ever produced. The band has toured the world, played the White House, and introduced millions of people to the sound of traditional New Orleans jazz.

What makes Preservation Hall remarkable is its stubbornness. In a city where every cultural institution faces pressure to modernize, commercialize, and expand, Preservation Hall has remained fundamentally the same: a small room, live jazz, no frills. The Jaffes' son Ben took over management and has expanded the band's reach while keeping its soul intact — collaborating with artists from Tom Waits to the Foo Fighters while never losing the thread of traditional New Orleans jazz.

Preservation Hall is proof that some things don't need to be improved. They just need to be preserved. The Hall and its band have been doing exactly that for more than sixty years, keeping the sound of New Orleans jazz alive in the same room where it's always been played.