Gibson Helps Preserve Preservation Hall

by Tom Watson; photos by Joseph A. Rosen.

Doesn't matter that you're in the wild and crazy heart of New Orleans' French Quarter, there are some things you can't do at 726 St. Peter Street's Preservation Hall. You can't sip sazeracs - no drinks are sold. You can't order gumbo - no food is served. And you can't make a reservation - you have to sweat in line like everybody else.

There are, however, two things you can do at Preservation Hall: You can feast your ears on some of the finest traditional New Orleans jazz the Big Easy has to offer and you can bring the kids.

At least that's what you could have done before Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall on August 29, 2005. While the folks who rebuilt 726 St. Peter Street after the Battle of New Orleans in 1812 knew a little something about building structures to last, Katrina flooding closed the doors of Preservation Hall and it was feared they might remain shut indefinitely.

Help was needed to preserve Preservation Hall.

If the Lord works in mysterious ways, it might be a trait He picked up from the music business. Within a month or so of the horror wrought by the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, the Music Rising program (established by Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, U2 guitarist, the Edge, and producer Bob Ezrin), had already helped more than 1,100 musicians in New Orleans recover from the loss of their equipment. "We felt compelled to help musicians restore their livelihood after seeing such devastation in the media and hearing how much was lost. While to not help these musicians would literally put music history at a standstill, restoring instruments for the musicians of such a vibrant part of our country was an opportunity to make sure the music indeed continues to rise for all to enjoy for many years to come," says Juszkiewicz.

And that was just the beginning. Among its many efforts to help those who suffered at the hands of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Music Rising also heeded the call to help preserve Preservation Hall.

Gibson Guitar. The Edge. Traditional New Orleans jazz. Mysterious ways at work?

Not to Henry Juszkiewicz: "Preservation Hall has such tradition and history with the city of New Orleans and much of the music we hear today. It was only fitting that Gibson Guitar and Music Rising paid tribute to the music it has given the world with support in helping it reopen after the Hurricane disasters of 2005."

On April 27, 2006, the music tradition known as Preservation Hall celebrated both its reopening and its 45th anniversary. Photographer Joseph A. Rosen was there to, well, preserve the occasion [see the photo gallery below].

While maybe not all of the music lovers who've sat in the wooden chairs of Preservation Hall without food, drink or air conditioning were aware of the Hall's place in music history, there's one thing they could tell you about the experience: If your foot ain't tappin', you got no pulse.

Photo Gallery

Related Links
Preservation Hall
Music Rising
Gibson Guitar
Joseph A. Rosen Photography

More articles by Tom Watson

---