Preservation Hall – New Orleans

Established in 1961, Preservation Hall was founded to honor one of America’s truest forms of art – traditional New Orleans Jazz.

The story of Preservation Hall dates back to the 1950s at Associated Artists, a small art gallery at 726 St. Peter Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Upon opening the gallery the proprietor Larry Borenstein found that it curtailed his ability to attend the few remaining local jazz concerts, and began inviting these musicians to perform “rehearsal sessions” in the gallery itself. These sessions featured living legends of New Orleans Jazz – George Lewis, Punch Miller, Sweet Emma Barrett, Billie and De De Pierce, The Humphrey Brothers, and dozens more.

During this period, traditional jazz had taken a backseat in popularity to rock n’ roll and bebop, leaving many of these players to work odd jobs. Although concerted efforts by aficionados such as William “Bill” Russell succeeded in recording and documenting this fading artform during the “New Orleans Jazz Revival” of the 1940s, venues that offered live New Orleans jazz were few and far between. Before long, Borenstein’s sessions took on a life of their own; enthusiasts of the music gravitated toward the gallery, including a young couple from Pennsylvania named Allan and Sandra Jaffe.

The Jaffes arrived in New Orleans in 1960, on an extended honeymoon from Mexico City. During their visit they conversed with a few jazz musicians in Jackson Square who were on their way to “Mr. Larry’s Gallery.” As avid fans of New Orleans jazz, the honeymooners followed the musicians and were introduced to Borenstein along with a number of living jazz greats that had gathered that evening for a jam session. Needless to say, they were enraptured by what they saw and heard. The music was pure and unaffected by the swaying of popular music. Most of these musicians were elderly, many of whom were contemporaries of Buddy Bolden and other early jazz practitioners. The Jaffes knew they happened upon something special and soon after moved to New Orleans permanently.

The jam sessions at 726 St. Peter became much more frequent, so much that Borenstein moved his gallery to the building next door. Performances were held nightly for donations and were organized by a short-lived not-for-profit organization, The New Orleans Society for The Preservation of Traditional Jazz. Shortly after the Jaffes returned to New Orleans, Borenstein passed the nightly operations of the hall to Allan Jaffe on a profit-and-loss basis, and Preservation Hall was born.

Following Allan Jaffe’s untimely passing in 1987, Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band now operate under the leadership of the Jaffe’s second son, Benjamin.
Picking up the mission where his parents left off, Ben Jaffe began a series of initiatives centered around expanding listenership to the music both at the Hall and on tour. As the years continued, the band began and welcomed a number of collaborative tours and recordings with artists outside of the traditional jazz genre including the Blind Boys of Alabama (gospel), Mos Def (hip-hop), the Del McCoury Band (bluegrass), My Morning Jacket (rock), and even a modern dance/ballet collaboration with critically-acclaimed choreographer Trey McIntyre.

Preservation Hall is open every night with concerts at 5pm, 6pm, 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm, with the exception of certain holidays and special events. Please note that ticketing is unique – there are two forms of admission at Preservation Hall:

General Admission: All you have to do is stand in line in front of the Hall before the show you would like to attend. Certain times of year are busier than others, but we generally recommend getting here about 30 minutes before the show. General Admission is cash only, $20 seven nights a week, with the exception of certain special events.

“Big Shot” Seating: Want to be a big shot and reserve seats? A limited amount of reserved seats are available for purchase below. Big Shot Seating guarantees you the best spot in the house and allows you to skip the line. Big Shot tickets are $35-50 with the exception of special events.