In the New Orleans program, the history of the traditional New Orleans jazz takes front stage. One the key figures here is musician and professor Dr. Michael White, who keeps old traditions alive and kicking with his clarinet. White is also one of the honorary members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This band is named after the club in the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter where the scene's top has been finding shelter since 1961. Tuba player Allan Jaffe ran the concert hall and organized tours for those musicians that performed there regularly. Though the Preservation Hall band has changed lineups frequently, their style has remained unchanged. And is not to be confused with the two-beat Dixieland style. In New Orleans Jazz, the tempo is a little slower than in other forms of jazz and the melody is the leitmotiv around which improvisations are played. This music's greatness lies in its simplicity. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is the treasurer of the original and pure hot New Orleans Jazz, for which there seems to be a renewed interest nowadays. These days, you don't even have to go all the way to New Orleans to hear that traditional New Orleans jazz, the band is on tour a number of months a year.
