Oman's getting jazzy with it: Preservation Hall Band to perform at ROHM

Catchy rhythms of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will return to the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) on April 28 for an exhilarating evening of traditional New Orleans jazz.

When the Preservation Hall Jazz Band made its Omani debut in April 2013, their sold-out concert was a huge success.

So, it's with great enthusiasm that the ROHM welcomes the legendary band back.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band includes Mark Braud on trumpet and vocals, Louis Ford on Clarinet, Clint Maedgen on saxophone and vocals, Joe Lastie, Jr. on drums, Rickie Monie on piano, Ronell Johnson on tuba, trombone and vocals, and Jeffrey Hills on tuba.

Each of the musicians was born and raised in New Orleans and has the spirit of jazz in their blood.

The band will play some tracks from their latest album That's It! which was released in 2013, and some New Orleans favourites such as Basin Street Blues, Tiger Rag, Shake That Thing, and Tailgate Ramble.

 The ROHM's Acting Director General and Artistic Director, Umberto Fanni, said: "The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is the ideal ambassador for New Orleans-style jazz. The energy and fun that these musicians bring to the stage is infectious and it's impossible not to move along to the music."

Named after the iconic Preservation Hall music venue in New Orleans' French Quarter, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe.

Since 1963, the band has been touring around the world, sharing the art of New Orleans Jazz. Many of the band's original members performed with jazz pioneers including Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Bunk Johnson.

Over the years the band leaders have included the brothers Willie and Percy Humphrey, husband and wife Billie and De De Pierce, famed pianist Sweet Emma Barrett, and more recently Wendell and John Brunious.

As different musicians joined the band over the years, the founding artists, and dozens of others, passed on the lessons of their music to a younger generation who now follow in their footsteps like the current line up.

Under the auspices of the current director, Ben Jaffe, the son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall continues with a deep reverence and consciousness of its greatest attributes in the modern day as a venue, a band, and a record label.

 The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will perform on April 28 at 7:30pm. For more information about Royal Opera House Muscat, tickets, and frequently asked questions, please visit the website at www.rohmuscat.org.om.