‘A Creole Christmas’ With Preservation Hall Jazz Band

The Suffolk presents famed New Orleans jazz ensemble Preservation Hall Jazz Band with “A Creole Christmas” on Sunday, November 26, at 7 p.m.

At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band began touring in 1963. Many of the band’s charter members performed with the pioneers who invented jazz in the early 20th century including Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Bunk Johnson. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter, founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe. The band has traveled worldwide spreading its mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans Jazz. Whether performing at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center, for British Royalty or the King of Thailand, the band conveys a joyful, timeless spirit. Under the auspices of current director, Ben Jaffe, the son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall continues with a deep reverence and consciousness of its impressive history as a venue, band and record label.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s performance at The Suffolk will feature New Orleans classics alongside some of the most beloved Christmas tunes with a twist. Tickets are $69 to $95 at thesuffolk.org. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street, Riverhead.