For the first time since the pandemic separated bands from their fans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band featuring Charlie Gabriel will perform before a live audience in New Orleans. The band’s landmark showroom at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter remains closed but the group will perform two limited-capacity shows at Tipitina’s on Saturday, June 12, at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

The last time the group appeared before a live audience in New Orleans was the Krewe du Kanaval ball on February 14, 2020.

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 who, following an extended honeymoon in New Orleans in 1960, opted to move to the city and took over nightly operations of what became Preservation Hall. 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, who also performs on tuba.

Tickets for the Tipitina’s shows may be purchased here.