Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Although New Orleans' traditional jazz scene had many top players in the 1950s, there was no principal venue for the city's veteran greats to play. In 1961, local art dealer Larry Borenstein opened a building in the French Quarter called Preservation Hall. The young tuba player Allan Jaffe ran the hall and organized tours for the musicians who often performed there, naming the band the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In the early days, the key musicians included, at various times, trumpeters Kid Thomas Valentine, Punch Miller, or De De Pierce; trombonists Louis Nelson or Jim Robi...