From the center of the jazz world in New Orleans, rises the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and they’re playing in Jackson Hole tonight.
According to preservationhall.com, PBJH has been around for over 50 years, capturing the multicultural spirit of the history of New Orleans jazz.
The band has over 176,000 listeners on Spotify, with popular hits such as “That’s It!,” “Between the Devil & The Deep Blue Sea” and others.
Willi Brooks, the event operations director at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, is excited to bring this acclaimed 7-piece ensemble to the area.
“This is a group that has a name that’s carried a lot of weight for a long time, and we think that our area, even though, yeah everyone knows about Jackson Hole, but we’re still out in the middle of nowhere,” Brooks said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t deserve high-quality programs like this.”
New Orleans has rich musical culture. That culture carries toe-tapping energy, a movement that gets individuals off their feet. Brooks hopes that energy presents itself during the performance.
“If we can even get 10% of the vibe that takes place in those bars, here in our theatre, I’ll be happy with it,” Brooks said.
The PHJB has played gigs at Coachella and even performed with legends like Stevie Wonder, the Grateful Dead, the Black Keys and many others. They bring a level of professionalism that Brooks says is legendary.
“How these guys play on a level of professionalism that they bring, they’re quite legendary for lack of a better term,” Brooks said.
The PHJB has been central to the music scene in New Orleans. It’s where many famous jazz musicians got their starts over the years.
“Ron L. Johnson, the famous trombonist and sousaphonist from Preservation Jazz Band, rest in peace, who recently passed away in June, this has always been a platform for amazing musicians to come through,” Brooks said.
Festivities begin well before the performance starts. The lobby opens with a happy hour at The Center Bar. The lawn is open for the community to hang out and take in the views of Snow King.
“Grab a drink, enjoy some good conversation with friends or jazz enthusiasts alike and get ready to come out to the show,” Brooks said.
Jazz popularity is niche which makes programming these shows difficult in the area, because it’s not well known.
“We had Chick Corea before he passed away, pre-Covid and I think we may be sold half our house, so only 250 tickets, and Chick Corea is such a legendary jazz musician,” Brooks said.
The Center for the Arts feels they’ve built community trust over the years as they try bringing high class talent to the Jackson community.
“Luckily, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a group that is definitely a little bit more name recognition and I think having them here will just continue the snowball effect in being able to bring more and more jazz musicians of their caliber to that people might not know their name but people will come out to,” Brooks said.
Of all the many forms of music, jazz is a unique style as its forms vary between sub-genres, instrumentation and interpretation.
The Jackson Center is almost sold out, but tickets are still available, you can catch the culture and energy by going to jhcenterforthearts.org.