Schaefer Center Presents Series Welcomes the Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Creole Christmas, Dec. 12

BOONE, NC — The Schaefer Center Presents (SCP) performing arts series, presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources, welcomes NOLA’s legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band in Creole Christmas, a seasonal celebration of New Orleans classics as well as some of the best-loved holiday selections with a twist. The performance takes place Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7:30pm at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $15-$45, and may be purchased at TheSchaeferCenter.org, in person at the Schaefer Center box office (733 Rivers Street), or by calling 828-262-4046.

At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 60 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history.

About the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB)was founded in New Orleans in the early 1960s by tuba player Allan Jaffe, who passed away in 1987. After graduating from Oberlin College, Allan’s son Ben became artistic director in 1993 and toured with PHJB, playing double bass and tuba, and implementing the educational initiatives that his father developed. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter.

As many as 20 different bands, drawn from a pool of about 150 local musicians, had played at Preservation Hall in the 1960s, but by 1999 virtually all of the older generation of musicians had died and the band members were a mixture of younger African-American players and white musicians from overseas. Most notable among the former were Michael White, Wendell Brunious, Freddie Lonzo, and tuba player Walter Payton; Europeans included the Swedish pianist Lars Edegran, the English trumpeter Clive Wilson, Orange Kellin, and Jacques Gauthé.” The Preservation Hall Jazz Band continued to tour nationally and internationally. 

In 2006, President George W. Bush and the National Endowment for the Arts awarded the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. A writer for the NEA commented, “Whether performing at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center, for British Royalty or the King of Thailand, the band conveys a joyful, timeless spirit. Under the auspices of current director Ben Jaffe, the son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall continues with a deep reverence and consciousness of its impressive history as a venue, band, and record label

Nearing Preservation Hall’s 45th anniversary, the band collaborated with musicians from other genres, such as Blind Boys of Alabama, on their Grammy Award-winning album Down in New Orleans. The band’s 2010 benefit album contained contributions from Andrew Bird, Del McCoury Band, Jim James, Dr. John, Pete Seeger, and Tom Waits, and PHJB supported My Morning Jacket on tour. The album American Legacies was a collaboration with the Del McCoury band, uniting New Orleans jazz and bluegrass music. In 2014, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band made a guest appearance on the Foo Fighters’ eighth studio album, Sonic Highways. The documentary A Tuba to Cuba was released in 2018. Celebrating its Golden Anniversary from 2011-2012, PHJB performed at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with Bonnie Raitt, Jim James, Allen Toussaint, Steve Earle, and Rebirth Brass Band, and became the first to perform at both the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival in the same year.

Tickets

Tiered at $45, $35 and $25, with a $15 ticket available for all students. App State Faculty/Staff can call the box office for exclusive ticket discounts. Tickets available at TheSchaeferCenter.org, in person at the Schaefer (733 Rivers St), or by calling 828.262.4046.

About The Schaefer Center Presents

“The Schaefer Center Presents” is a series offering campus and community audiences a diverse array of music, dance and theatre programming designed to enrich the cultural landscape of the Appalachian State University campus and surrounding area. By creating memorable performance experiences and related educational and outreach activities, the series promotes the power and excitement of the live performance experience; provides a "window on the world" through the artistry of nationally and internationally renowned artists; and showcases some of the finest artists of our nation and our region. Musical events range from symphony orchestra and chamber music performances to jazz, folk, traditional, international, and popular artists. Theatre productions run the gamut from serious drama to musical comedy. Dance performances offer an equally wide array of styles, from ballet to modern dance to international companies representing cultural traditions from around the world. For more information, visit http://theschaefercenter.org.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

App State Campus Store, Explore Boone, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, Our State Magazine, PBS North Carolina, High Country Radio (WZJS and WATA), WDAV 89.9 FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WKSK The Farm, and WASU 90.5FM.