Preservation Hall Jazz Band Announces New Album & Shares Single

Renowned New Orleans ensemble Preservation Hall Jazz Band have announced the release of a new studio album entitled So It Is. The album features the single “Santiago” and is due out on Legacy Recordings on April 21.

Bandleader and bassist Ben Jaffe along with 84-year-old saxophonist Charlie Gabriel penned the bulk of the music on So It Is with further support from their band mates. The seven-song LP was produced by TV On The Radio’s David Sitek and influenced heavily by PHJB’s 2015 journey to Cuba.

“In Cuba, all of a sudden we were face to face with our musical counterparts,” said Jaffe in a statement. “There’s been a connection between Cuba and New Orleans since day one – we’re family. A gigantic light bulb went off and we realized that New Orleans music is not just a thing by itself; it’s part of something much bigger. It was almost like having a religious epiphany.”

Longtime members Clint Maedgen, Ronell Johnson, Gabriel and Jaffe, as well as recent PHJB additions Walter Harris, Branden Lewis and Kyle Roussel recorded the new studio album in their native New Orleans. Available to pre-order here, the record includes the single “Santiago,” which can be streamed below:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/preservationhalljazzband

So It Is Tracklist

1. So It Is
2. Santiago
3. Innocence
4. La Malanga
5. Convergence
6. One Hundred Fires
7. Mad