Help Preserve

Located in the French Quarter, Preservation Hall was opened in 1961 as a musical epicenter to keep jazz alive in a city key to its early development: New Orleans. Since then, it's wore many hats. It's given local artists, both young and old, a place to rub shoulders, to learn and teach, to pass on the music that has partially formed the life blood of the city. It's served as an intimate venue for musicians to perform for the public, retaining it's flavor and tradition for close to 50 years (it still does not have running water or air conditioning). It's been home to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a band that has traveled throughout the world, giving people from many countries the chance to experience fine New Orleans style jazz. It's reached out to the community's youth and instilled that music in future generations.

A few months ago, Preservation: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program was released to help raise funds for the Hall to continue in its mission to fill all of the many roles listed above. On it you'll find nineteen tracks, nineteen compositions that express that good ol' New Orleans spirit that is so characteristically unique to the city. While many people might have problems identifying one jazz artist to the next, or bebop to hard bop, New Orleans jazz is a flavor all of its own. The album's main players are the Preservation Hall Band, but it also features a whole slew of guest artists who donated their time to the project. Here's the track listing:

1. Shake It And Break It (with Andrew Bird)
2. Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea (with Paolo Nutini)
3. Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing (with Tom Waits)
4. Louisiana Fairytale (with Yim Yames)
5. After You ve Gone (with Del McCoury)
6. Freight Train (with Ani DiFranco)
7. Blue Skies (with Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger)
8. Nobody Knows You (with Jason Isbell)
9. Old Rugged Cross (with Brandi Carlile)
10. Trouble In Mind (with Richie Havens)
11. Basin Street Blues (with Merle Haggard)
12. There Is A Light (with The Blind Boys of Alabama and Clint Maedgen)
13. Winin Boy (with Dr. John)
14. Rocking Chair (with Louis Armstrong)
15. Baby Won t You Please Come Home (with Amy LaVere)
16. Taint Nobody's Business (with Steve Earle)
17. Some Cold Rainy Day (with Cory Chisel)
18. I Ain't Got Nobody (with Buddy Miller)
19. La Vie En Rose (with Angelique Kidjo & Terence Blanchard)

Put the musicianship of the Hall's band behind the vocals of these artists, and you've got a most enjoyable combination. As stated above, proceeds from the sale of the album go to maintaining the Hall's many musical programs and is a worthwhile investment.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Tom Waits - Tottie Ma Was A Big Fine Thing : Preservation: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program

Visit the album's website and the Preservation Hall website.

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Upcoming Tour Dates with My Morning Jacket

04/20: Birmingham , AL @ Alabama Theater
04/21: Nashville , TN @ Municipal Auditorium
04/23: Atlanta , GA @ Chastain Park
04/25: New Orleans , LA @ Jazzfest
04/27: St. Augustine , FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
04/28: Charleston , SC @ Family Circle
04/30: Raleigh , NC @ Koka Booth
05/01: Columbia , MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
05/02: Columbus , OH @ LC Outdoor Pavilion