Preservation Hall
Bare French Quarter room presenting traditional New Orleans jazz nightly since 1961, without amplification.
Preservation Hall occupies a modest eighteenth-century building on Saint Peter Street that has served in turn as a private residence, a tavern and an art gallery. In 1961 Allan and Sandra Jaffe took over the informal jam sessions that the gallery's owner had been hosting and turned them into a nightly concert series, with the explicit aim of supporting the elderly Black musicians who had carried New Orleans jazz through decades of neglect. The hall has presented the music almost every night since.
The room seats only a few dozen people on benches and cushions, with standing space behind; there is no bar, no amplification and no air conditioning, and the peeling walls are hung with portraits of past players. Ensembles perform under the Preservation Hall name, including the Preservation All-Stars, the Preservation Legacy Band and Preservation Brass, while the touring Preservation Hall Jazz Band carries the repertoire abroad. Sets are short, typically around forty-five minutes.
Highlights
- Acoustic sets of traditional New Orleans jazz, several each evening
- Historic room with bench seating and no bar or amplification
- Resident ensembles including the Preservation All-Stars and Preservation Brass
- Non-profit foundation supporting music education in the city
