In the middle of Bourbon Street bar strip, if you go south on St. Peter Street for half a block, you’ll come to the humble gates of Preservation Hall:
Preservation Hall opened its doors in 1961. The hall was created as a sanctuary, to protect and honor New Orleans Jazz which had lost much of its popularity to modern jazz and rock n roll. Allan and Sandra Jaffe, the hall’s founders, wanted a place where New Orleans musicians could play New Orleans Jazz, a style, they believed, should not disappear.
Among the nightlife of the French Quarter, Preservation Hall is an oasis. The venue doesn’t serve food, or sell drinks. They only cater in sweet, beautiful jazz. The environment immediately shifts my focus from self importance to admiration of something outside of ourselves. The audience’s favor isn’t even necessarily directed toward the musicians, but to the pure joy of the music, the creation.
Last week, I went there twice – to breathe in, to leave, and then to live.
