Band brings New Orleans to ASO
By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Contact)
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band joins the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
in concerts tonight and Saturday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center
Music Hall.
2008-05-08 14:12:00
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LITTLE ROCK — New Orleans’ legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band will join the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to help close out the 2007-08 Acxiom Pops Live! Series in concerts at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock.
Associate Conductor Israel Getzov will be on the podium for an evening of New Orleans jazz favorites, including “Bourbon Street Parade,” “Basin Street Blues,” “St. Louis Blues” and “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.”
Sponsors are Entergy and Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Tickets are $16-$70, with discounts for groups of 10 or more. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 21 or visit the Web site, www.ArkansasSymphony. org.
The band, founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe, derives its name from Preservation Hall, a marble music venue in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. Ben Jaffe, the founders’ son, now leads the ensemble.
Before each concert, the orchestra will host a party for ticket-holders on the front steps of the music hall from 6-7:30 p.m. The Happy Tymes Jazz Band will play and Starving Artist Cafe will be providing free red beans and rice.
Free Mardi Gras beads and a cash bar will also be available.
The party is the brainchild of Marketing Director TamaraClement, who grew up in Little Rock, lived in New Orleans for several years and returned to her hometown in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The idea is to bring a taste of New Orleans to Arkansas, Clement explains.
She says she wants to do what she can to pay back “the community who welcomed me with open arms.”
This article was published Friday, May 9, 2008.
Weekend, Pages 94 on 05/09/2008
