Redefining Preservation Hall

Preservation’s Hall’s 50th-anniversary celebration has amassed nearly two years of introspective museum exhibitions, commemorative concerts, a coffee-table photo book, collaborations with all manner of musicians—not to mention dance and theater companies—and a big-stage Jazz Fest performance in May. The most recent addition is a multi-faceted series of box set, live-in-concert and vinyl-only music releases. And, as if that weren’t quite enough, the Hall’s managers are currently fine-tuning plans for the grand opening of a second Preservation Hall venue (Preservation Hall West) in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Celebratory excess? Possibly.

But behind the torrent of projects lies one central fact: Preservation Hall isn’t your grandfather’s or even your father’s Preservation Hall anymore. During his 20-year tenure as Hall honcho, Ben Jaffe, son of founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe, has transformed what once was strictly a shrine to old-time jazz musicians into a cultural institution with a portfolio that now includes all manner of roots-music expression, from folk and bluegrass to rock and rap. At the same time, Jaffe has reformulated the concept of the French Quarter Hall and now the new Mission District Hall into living entities that can serve as recording and performance landmarks, while also providing educational outreach and community gathering locations.

For now, however, let’s turn our attention to the three commemorative music releases, all in different formats and each on a different label. The Preservation Hall 50th-Anniversary Collection on Sony Legacy is a four-CD set containing previously recorded material from 20 separate albums released between 1962 and 2010 by the Atlantic Records, Columbia Records and Preservation Hall Records labels. Given free rein by Sony Legacy, Jaffe selected 100 of his favorite cuts and then, working with veteran roots and jazz producer Michael Cuscuna, winnowed that number down to approximately 60 essential tracks.

While the CDs aren’t programmed thematically, even a cursory listening makes it clear that Disc One is kind of a condensed overview, while Disc Four workes as a grand-finale rideout. The perpetually impatient might select Discs One and Four alone as a truncated version of the whole collection, while those interested in the deeper pleasure of what is essentially New Orleans’ native folk music will want to dig into all four of these remarkable disks.

An even more condensed version of the Preservation Hall experience circa 2012 can be found on St. Peter & 57th St., a compilation of the best performances from the anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall last January, featuring guest spots by Allen Toussaint, GIVERS, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Trombone Shorty and others. Vinyl-heads and devoted completists can find tracks from the same concert, featuring just the Preservation Hall band, on a vinyl-only release available through the Hall’s website.