New Orleans Jazz
I spent a few days on vacation in New Orleans. Now that I'm back home, I know that's not nearly enough time.
I spent a few days on vacation in New Orleans. Now that I'm back home, I know that's not nearly enough time.
I hadn't been to New Orleans since I was my daughter's age. My parents took my brother, me and two of our cousins to the 1984 World's Fair. One thing that hasn't changed is the feeling of a festival or a fair on some streets. I'm staying in the French Quarter. I went out to a concert at Preservation Hall last night, and it seemed like some sort of holiday celebration in the area.
The line outside Preservation Hall is long and forms early.
If you love jazz music, or music of any kind, you need to go to Preservation Hall if you visit New Orleans. Or look up the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and find out when they're coming to your city. Different acts play the Hall, but I made a point of getting a VIP ticket on a night the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was playing. I'm glad I did.
First of all, this is not your usual venue. The building itself is at least 200 years old. It's been the site of Preservation Hall since 1961. There is no stage. There's no mics or amplifiers or speakers. There's no seed. There is one room everyone goes into, with not a lot of seating. There are a couple of benches, some pillows for the floor, and the VIP seats are important for their placement, not the comfort level.
I took the picture above from my seat. I was right next to the musicians. When I say "right next to," I mean, I had to scoot back a bit when the sax player jumped up to sing. I could see every key the pianist played. It was fantastic. And this is all I can show you:
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band takes the stage.
I have never hated a "no photography" rule so much in my life. Once the performance started, photography had to end. Even if I was inclined to sneak some pictures, I was sitting so close there's no way I could have gotten away with it. I was too busy enjoying the music anyway. It's kind of hard to take pictures and clap at the same time.