Among my most memorable concerts are seeing the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on different trips to New Orleans ages ago.  My first trip in 1972 for a friend’s wedding is a haze of Hurricanes and Pat O’Brien’s and wonderful food and just one jazz club after another down Bourbon Street.  (What I have seen these days are mostly places to get a drink handed to you).  When we first went to Preservation Hall, the“Bell Gal”, Sweet Emma Barrett was the de facto bandleader and the only vocalist.  She absolutely captivated us; I have managed to find three albums by her over the years – all since I moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast – and at least one I have cleaned up and back in my stacks. 

There was a sign on the wall in Preservation Hall about requests (still is, in fact); you could put in a request for $1 or $2 – but if you wanted to hear “Saints”, that would cost you $5.  

(June 2015)