Mississippi State University students will have the opportunity to experience a piece of the Big Easy next Tuesday night. The MSU Lyceum and University Honors Program will bring the jazz sounds of New Orleans to MSU’s campus with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The nationally and internationally recognized jazz ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Lee Hall on Tuesday, April 15.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band received its name from the historical building Preservation Hall, which serves as a performance venue for the band. The concert hall sits in the famous French Quarter district of New Orleans. Established in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe, the band contains performers ranging in age from 32 to 88. Allan’s son Ben now manages Preservation Hall and also plays bass in the band.
The younger Jaffe said growing up listening to his father play in the band became an important musical influence in his life. He added that all ages can participate in music because younger generations learn the art of making music from older generations.
“You absorb music the same way someone going to church would absorb the spirit of God,” Jaffe said.
The band, Don Vappie, Benjamin Jaffe, David Grillier, Wendell Brunious, Frank Demond, Joseph Lastie Jr. and Rickie Monie, plays every night and also tours five months out of the year.
“We’re always excited to play for new audiences and to bring a little bit of the spirit of New Orleans everywhere we go,” Jaffe said.
Every Preservation Hall concert differs according to the audience. The band members only plan the first and last songs, letting the mood of the audience carry them to the next tune. However, the band frequently plays classic songs including “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “St. Louis Blues,” “Mardi Gras” and “I Ain’t Got Nobody.”
“A lot of what the band does is based on the audience,” Jaffe said. “These guys have so much experience behind them that they always pick the right songs.”
Many of the band’s members have a variety of musical experience. Band members Lastie and Monie both began their musical careers performing with local churches. Kimball, Brunious, and Jaffe all have fathers who played musical instruments. Ben’s father played the tuba in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Kimball’s father gained recognition as a bass player and Brunious’s father played trumpet and wrote for Billy Eckstein and Cab Calloway.
“You can learn a lot through experience, and the great thing that we have is lots of experience,” Ben said.
The group has recently performed at Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Symphony Hall. At Wolf Trap National Park, they were presented the Wolf Trap Medal for Excellence in the Performing Arts. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has also released several albums with record labels Sony Music and CBS Records.
The MSU Lyceum will conclude its series with the Tuesday performance in Lee Hall Auditorium.
Tickets for the event are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and groups of 10 or more and $6 for children. Individual tickets are available at the door, and MSU students will be admitted free with student identification.
For more information on tickets, group rates or performances, call 325-4201. For more information on the Lyceum Series, visit www.msstate.edu/dept/lyceum.