Preservation Hall Jazz Band - So It Is

Artist - Preservation Hall Jazz Band 

Title - So It Is

Format - Single Vinyl LP

Label - Sub Pop Records

Mastered by Greg Calbi

'So It Is' was originally released in 2017, and finds the classic Preservation Hall Jazz Band sound invigorated by a number of fresh influences, not least among them, the band's 2015 life-changing trip to Cuba. Producer David Sitek, a founder of art rock innovators TV on the Radio who has helmed projects by Kelis, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Santigold among others, offered both a keen modern perspective and a profound respect for the band's storied history.

Although primarily known as one of the main proponents of traditional New Orleans jazz since debuting in 1961, New Orleans' own Preservation Hall Jazz BAnd has transformed over the past 20 years into an open-minded and stylistically adventurous ensemble. One of the main drivers of this creative metamorphosis is musical director and tuba player/bassist Ben Jaffe, son of Hall founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe.

So It Is showcases a soulful, bluesy, groove-oriented set of songs heavily influenced by the roiling, kinetic sound of Afro-Latin and Cuban bands. Cuts like "Santiago" and "Innocence," both co-written by Jaffe and saxophonist/clarinetist Charlie Gabriel, are ferociously bumping, dance-inducing anthems built around titanically rolling drumbeats, evocative keyboard lines, and bristling, puckered horn riffs. Similarly, the kinetic "La Malanga," is a carnival-level, mambo-ready jam replete with searing trumpet lines from Brandon Lewsie and an angular, post-bop-accented solo from pianist Kyle Roussel. 

Elsewhere, they dive deep into New Orleans R&B traditions on the funky, organ-steeped, minor-key, Dan Wilson co-write "One Hundred Fires," and borrow the brassy bombast of fellow New Orleans institution the Rebirth Brass Band on the vocal and handclap-heavy audience pleaser "Mad." Along with being a joyous and infectiously jubilant album, So It Is offers the one-two punch of letting the Preservation Hall Jazz Band play the kind of raw, no-holds-barred jazz and blues that they helped personally create a renaissance for, while surreptitiously luring their listeners into what often explodes into a full-on Afro-Latin dance party.