The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, after its formation in the early '60s, helped spread the joy of New Orleans jazz around the world. Unfortunately, the musicianship tended to be quite erratic, and by the 1980s it could be somewhat embarrassing at times. Certainly the band was full of joyous spirits, and the rhythm section (pianist
James Miller, banjoist
Narvin Kimball,
Allan Jaffe on tuba and drummer
Cie Frazier) was often quite driving. However the frontline of trumpeter
Percy Humphrey, clarinetist
Willie Humphrey and trombonist
Frank Demond was rather weak and erratic at best at this point, so the ensembles tended to be better than the solos. Still, fans of revival New Orleans jazz who do not mind clams and shaky moments should be able to enjoy this music. ~ Scott Yanow