That’s It! (Sony-Legacy Music)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Released July 9, 2013
DownBeat Five-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cXrKuf4KKys&list=OLAK5uy_l0RY6254Z3Qph1McYYbqEn4PCBJxjmbA8
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6JYR0JXps5x2upNuCKaA00?si=GK7_kBHlTdqwpHVzpVl5eA
About:
Preservation Hall Jazz Band is an American New Orleans-style jazz band that has featured a rotating cast of musicians since it formation in 1963, including the likes of Louis Nelson, Sweet Emma Barrett, and Billie Pierce.
Opened in 1961 to preserve the rich and vibrant history of New Orleans Jazz, Preservation Hall, located in the city’s French Quarter, was one of the first venues to welcome both Caucasian and African-American musicians. Soon after the venue’s invent Preservation Hall Jazz Band was formed hosting an esteemed group of local musicians which would prove popular with residents and tourists the world over. Showcasing the likes of Kid Thomas Valentine, Punch Miller, Louis Nelson, Jim Robinson, Joseph Robichaux, Billie Pierce, Percy Humphrey, George Lewis, Sweet Emma Barrett, and Willie Humphrey, the band’s early members represented the jazz elite.
Looking to expand their profile and promote themselves further afield, comprised of Kid Thomas Valentine, George Lewis, Louis Nelson, Emanuel Paul, Joe James, Joe Butler, and Sammy Penn, the band began touring in 1963. The band’s first live performance outside of Louisiana came in the midwest, with a notable show at the Guthrie Theater. The tour led to a revival of interest in New Orleans jazz, and subsequently a tour of Japan in 1964.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s musical recordings have honoured the traditions of New Orleans for over four decades, producing their most successful output under the leadership of Sweet Emma Barrett and the Pierce brothers. Despite this the band’s focus has also remained on playing live and worldwide tours have consistently showcased the band’s talent and history. Following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, doubts were raised about the condition of Preservation Hall and the band’s recordings. To the relief of many, the jazz band’s unreleased and archived recordings were subsequently released as the compilation “Made in New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions” in 2007. In 2010 a benefit album in their honour, “An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program” was released featuring the likes of Paolo Nutini, Andrew Bird, Del McCoury, and Angelique Kidjo. Three years later the group issued their first album of all original material, “That’s It”.
Track Listing:
1. That’s It! (Ben Jaffe) 3:22
2. Dear Lord (Give Me the Strength) (Ben Jaffe) 4:10
3. Come with Me (Ben Jaffe, Charlie Gabriel) 2:44
4. Sugar Plum (Ben Jaffe, Charlie Gabriel) 4:29
5. Rattlin’ Bones (Ben Jaffe, Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson) 3:19
6. I Think I Love You (Ben Jaffe, Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson) 3:20
7. August Nights (Clint Maedgen) 4:25
8. Halfway Right, Halfway Wrong (Ben Jaffe) 4:18
9. Yellow Moon (Ben Jaffe, Charlie Gabriel) 2:39
10. The Darker It Gets (Ben Jaffe, Clint Maedgen, Paul Williams, Rickie Monie) 3:04
11. Emmalena’s Lullaby (Ben Jaffe) 1:47
Personnel:
Mark Braud: trumpet;
Ben Jaffe: string bass, sousaphone
Ronell Johnson: sousaphone
Clint Maedgen: tenor sax, clarinet & vocals
Rickie Monie: piano
Joe Lastie: drums
Freddie Lonzo: trombone
Charlie Gabriel: clarinet
Jim James: backing vocals
Recorded November, 17-25, 2012 at Preservation Hall, New Orleans
Produced by Jim James & Ben Jaffe
Engineer: Kevin Ratterman
Asstistant Engineers: Rick Nelson & Jason Rhein
Mixed by Michael Brauer
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Photography: Ben Jaffe & Shannon Brinkman & Danny Clinch
Art Direction & Design: Frank Harkins
Review:
In describing the impetus to make the first album of all-original material in the 52-year history of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Creative Director Ben Jaffe has pointed out that “this is a living, breathing tradition.” And the idea is poignant. Taken as a whole, the album reflects key elements of the music’s history: dance and parade rhythms, church themes, humor, theatricality and a strong sense of place. But the brilliance of That’s It! lies in the varied innovations that marry past to present. The result is progressive, yet fits seamlessly into the canon of traditional New Orleans jazz. Meticulously produced at the hall by Jaffe and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, every track captures sonic subtleties usually only afforded to those lucky enough to snag a front-and-center seat. This is especially important with regard to Charlie Gabriel, whose voice at 82 reverberates with the soulfulness that inspired artists like George Lewis and Lionel Hampton to hire him as a teenager, along with everything he’s experienced since. On Gabriel’s sly and bouncy “I Think I Love You,” that history influences a brilliant artist whose warm phrasing and low-end vibrato is crystalline; you can actually hear his smile. Gabriel’s bright and brassy “Come With Me” is equally memorable. Within its twinkling clarinet solos and gentle lyricism lies a new addition to the city’s historic catalog of songs sung from the perspective of a New Orleanian who aches to share the experience of his city with an outsider. Other highlights include the title track, a gangster-ready romp that pairs a double-tuba shuffle rhythm with searing crescendos of brawny horn lines. The rebirth and resiliency-themed “Dear Lord (Give Me Strength)” features Ronell Johnson at his best, interpreting the church-based music that feeds the city’s parades through caramelly vocals steeped in gospel.
Jennifer Odell (Downbeat)
