|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long’s Park Summer Music Series Showcasing New Orleans’
Heralded Preservation Hall Jazz Band August 2, 2009.
LANCASTER,
PA -- The final month of the 2009 Long’s Park Summer Music
Series will kick off with the iconic Preservation Hall Jazz Band
on August 2, 2009. The big band who introduced the world to New
Orleans jazz, these venerable musical ambassadors will light up
the Long’s Park amphitheater stage at 7:30 pm.
The group got its start almost a half-century ago as the house band
at the French Quarter’s Preservation Hall, a venue with a rich
past that dates back to 1750. Its founders created the hall in 1961
as a sanctuary to protect their beloved New Orleans jazz from other
emerging musical styles.
Members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band cut their first
licks with some of jazz’s greatest. Founding members performed
with such pioneers as Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong.
Lessons learned from these masters have been passed on to the members
of the present day Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Today the eight-piece Preservation Hall Jazz Band features
the son of the band’s cofounders, Ben Jaffe, on tuba and guiding
the group’s creative direction. He is joined in the lively,
seasoned octet by the nephew of two former Band leaders, Mark Braud,
on trumpet and vocals. Also a part of the band are Charlie Gabriel
(clarinet, saxophone and vocals), Clint Maedgen (reeds and vocals),
Joe Lastie, Jr. (drums), Freddy Lonzo (trombone), Walter Payton
(bass and vocals) and Rickie Monie (piano).
These musical ambassadors continue to travel the world as they have
since 1963, nurturing and preserving their legendary art form. Their
mission was invigorated by Hurricane Katrina, which forever changed
New Orleans. As The New York Times’ Ben Ratliff pointed
out, the devastating storm gave the group “a sharper mandate
of cultural preservation.” This passion is reflected in the
Band’s newest of more than 15 albums, 2009’s “New
Orleans Preservation Vol. 1.”
Preservation Hall Jazz Band received the National Medal of
the Arts in 2006, an award conferred by the US Congress and presented
by the President of the United States to honor artists and patrons
of the arts. The band was also featured recently on the soundtrack
of Oscar award winner, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
Weber Advertising and The Big Gold Bus are sponsoring this performance
by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
The Long’s Park Summer Music Series is produced and underwritten
by the Long’s
Park Amphitheater Foundation. Thanks to generous sponsors, private
donors and proceeds of the Labor Day weekend Long’s Park Art
& Craft Festival, admission and parking are free. Sponsors of
the 2009 season are Lancaster General and Susquehanna Bank. Season
media sponsors are WARM 103 and 96.1 WSOX. WGAL- TV is season weather
sponsor.
Stevens & Lee, PC is sponsoring the 2009 Long’s Park Art
& Craft Festival.
Long’s Park concertgoers are invited to bring picnics, blankets
and lawn chairs to the park. A selection of food purveyors will
also be in the park, offering a complete meal’s worth of family
foods and desserts. Long’s Park is an alcohol-free park.
Long’s Park is conveniently located at 1441 Harrisburg Pike
in Lancaster, just off Route 30 across from Park City Center. All
performances are held rain or shine, except in the case of dangerously
inclement weather.
Additional information and links to musical previews of Long’s
Park’s performers can be found at www.longspark.org,
or on Facebook. For details on corporate sponsorships of the Long's
Park Summer Music Series and to learn how to make individual and
corporate contributions, contact the Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation
at www.longspark.org.
|
|
