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incredible responsibility with what we do at Preservation Hall
because of the history of our music. It’s African American–
rooted, the long and sort of painful history of the South and
our country, and for us to be able to turn that into something
beautiful is amazing. I feel like that’s probably where I’ve le a
mark, bringing that history to people’s attention and honestly
and very joyfully giving back some of the blessings that I was
very fortunate to be given as a child, growing up around older
musicians who took me under their wing. Being able to play
with people like [ -year-old saxophonist] Charlie Gabriel on
a regular basis, that’s a blessing. In New Orleans, one of the
things that we value is passing those blessings on to the next
generation, to other people. You become in many ways a mis-
sionary for this gi that you’ve inherited.
When Hurricane Katrina caused so much devastation to
the city and even Preservation Hall, what gave the group
the resolve to rebuild and keep going?
It really speaks to how deep this music is to us. ere’s no
question that you would do anything and everything for your
family if put in a catastrophic position, and I believe that we
all feel that same way about New Orleans. You don’t have to
be related by blood—we’re related by community, and we’re
related by our history, and that’s one of the things that distin-
guishes New Orleans. It not only attracts but gives birth to a
certain spirit, and that’s what we were protecting. It’s a value
that my parents carried with them; it’s a value that I am passing
on to my daughter, and it’s something that, when you speak to
someone from New Orleans, they’re very, very—and rightfully
so—protective of this city. Everybody feels like New Orleans is
theirs, and without that, I don’t know that we would’ve come
back. I wonder about that, but in hindsight I know that inner
strength, that drive are the reasons why we couldn’t be any-
where else. ere’s nowhere else for us to go.
How is the current version of the group similar to the
original band and in what ways does it di er?
It’s very much the same in that it’s a continuation of the familial
history that’s been a part of New Orleans music from day
one. It’s as rich and vibrant as it’s ever been. ere’s a youthful
energy to what’s going on in the city; it’s beautiful to see it and
to think it’s a result of some of the work that you did in your
lifetime. I’ve always seen the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as
missionaries, not just to musicians and audiences outside of
New Orleans, but to New Orleans itself. Sometimes you have
to remind yourself and the people in your own backyard of the
value of what you already have. In New Orleans, the extraordi-
nary is our ordinary. It’s hard to even wrap your brain around,
going to the grocery store and encountering Allen Toussaint,
or going over to Fats Domino’s house for lunch or running into
Miss Irma omas or Dr. John. e guys in my dad’s band,
they’d be talking about, ‘Oh yeah, Buddy Bolden and Louie
Armstrong and King Oliver …’ I never want to lose sight of the
importance and beauty of what these people contributed to the
world and to myself.
Can you give us a glimpse of your latest recording,
So It Is
?
Since Hurricane Katrina, we’ve been on this musical journey
as a band to understand better who we are and what role we
play in the New Orleans continuum. All of the musicians that
I’ve admired—in New Orleans and in general—grew up in a
tradition and then le their own mark, advanced that tradition
JACQUELINE DURAND/RAVINIA
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 20 – SE3TEM%ER 2, 2018
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