Preservation Hall – Preserving Traditional Jazz
Gary and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Preservation Hall in New Orleans as part of a special jazz experience.
Gary Coble received the first ever Music Teacher Recognition award given by the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Foundation on August 25, 1998 in acknowledgement of “his service to the future of American music as an outstanding and inspiring educator.” Gary came to the attention of the ASCAP committee because he was selected as Desert Springs Middle School Teacher of the Year for 1997-1998. He then was selected Palm Springs Unified School District Teacher of the Year and went on to be selected Riverside County Teacher of the Year.
The ASCAP award was timely because it also honored Sonny Bono who tragically died on January 5, 1998. Sonny Bono was best known as a singer-songwriter (and was a member of ASCAP). Additionally, he was mayor of Palm Springs from 1988-1992 and a U.S. Congressman from 1995 until his death. Since Gary lived and taught in the congressional district that Sonny served, it made this award very special for many people.
In addition to this momentous honor, Gary received $5,000.00 to further his own music education. ASCAP stipulated that he could not spend this money on his classroom. And this is how we got to Preservation Hall. Gary used part of his money to attend IAJE, the International Association for Jazz Education conference in New Orleans. In addition to the conference and the exhibits (the vendors were very generous – once while all the educators were at sessions I was wandering around and one of the vendors was looking for an educator to give a boxed set of jazz CD’s and gave them to me since I was married to a music educator -ultimately Gary was given hundreds of CD’s to share with students and other teachers), we also took advantage of all of the wonderful jazz performances we could, including the wonderful band at Preservation Hall.
A trip to Preservation Hall takes you back in time to the 50s and 60s. Originally it was just a small, no frills venue where musicians could play for tips. In 1961 Allan and Sandra Jaffe took over the management. They “hired local musicians whose ages ranged from 60s to the 90s. At first the Jaffes served no alcohol, used no amplification, and refused to advertise.” www.wikipedia.org
Preservation Hall is very small and is definitely a throwback to another era. It’s housed in a rough-hewn wooden building with few amenities including no air conditioning. There are a few wooden benches in front of the band but most visitors stand during the set just to hear these talented musicians. At his 70th birthday tribute in 1970, Louis Armstrong said the Preservation Hall is “where you’ll find all the greats” and Tom Waits who recently recorded there, proclaimed that it is “sacred, hallowed ground.” www.vanityfair.com
Preservation Hall has preserved traditional jazz and introduced jazz to people who have never been exposed to it. The bands change nightly so true jazz enthusiasts will have the opportunity to hear an unending supply of great jazz music.
My son is a drummer today because of the teachers who were role models for him. Thank goodness for all the music teachers. What would the world be like without music?