Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Creole Christmas
Walton Arts Center is proud to present Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Creole Christmas on Thursday, December 20 at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now and range from $20 to $36 and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.
Under the direction of Ben Jaffe, son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB) features some of the greatest and most historic multi-generational musicians touring the globe today. The group recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with a four-CD 58-track collection of recordings.
Performing “Creole Christmas” since 2005, PHJB brings their unique New Orleans hot and spicy flavor to holiday traditions with songs like “Blue Christmas,” “Swinging In A Winter Wonderland,” “Bells Will Be Ringin’,” and “The Dreydel Song.”
The group was developed in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter at Preservation Hall in 1961. The building itself has a colorful past, housing a tavern as far back as the war of 1812 and an art gallery that led the transition to renowned music venue. Beginning in 1963, several bands were touring under the name Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with many of the charter members performing with early twentieth century jazz inventors and pioneers including Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Bunk Johnson. PHJB has performed around the world for a variety of audiences, from Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center to British Royalty, the King of Thailand and every U.S. president since the Kennedy Administration.
Following Hurricane Katrina, band leader John Brunious stayed at an evacuation center in Conway, Ark. before heading to New York to reunite with members of the group. They met at a Manhattan TV studio with time for only one song – “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”
This performance is part of the Popcorn Indiana® American Masters Series. Media support provided by Fox 24. For more information on this performance, please visit www.waltonartscenter.org or call 479.443.5600. For more information on Preservation Hall Jazz Band, visitwww.preservationhall.com.
