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DECKING OUT NEW ORLEANS'S LEGENDARY PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND, THE TO-THE-NINES-STYLISH BADASSES OF THE BIG EASY. "BLOW, MAN, BLOW"

i n any given evening, even in the stupid-humid 105-degree heat of summer, a line of enthusiasts forms around the block of the French Quarter's historic Rue St. Peter. The crowd single-files along the cracked sidewalk to nab a seat on a floor cushion, a splintered wooden bench, a stand-up chair, a prostrate perch in Preservation Hall, to see

the wildly accomplished, gamely entertaining, anything but by-the-numbers Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a musical insti­tution that never rests on its magnolia-blossom laurels.

No one walks away disappointed-even those in the standing-room-only room who can't see the six- to eight-piece band taking solos on the black-and-whites, the upright, the clarinet, the bone,

FASHION BY JENNIFER RYAN JONES

the saxophone, the tuba even, walking the audi­ence down the Green Mile of jazz, blues, swing and gospel history of the city. It's crowded, but there's room to move, in both senses of the word. Too-cool-for-school natives blow us: This is the art and soul of the city that care forgot.

Since the early 1960s-when musicians were welcomed to this former art gallery, dating back to 1750, to do their thing-the Spanish colonial porte-cochere house with its dreamy courtyard has drawn the greatest jazz musicians into the band and, into the hall, those who love the distinctly bipolar music of New Orleans, which swings from dirge to devil-may-care in a beat.

Respect. No alcohol served. No smoking,

ICKLONZO:TROM'BOI |75, by Adrian Jules. B, by Joseph Abboud. iO5, by Thomas Pink.

MARK BRAUD: TRUMPET

Fleur-de-lis silver ring, $180, and

dice cuff links, $125, from Aidan Gill for Men.

CLINT MAEDCEN: VOCALS, REEDS Striped tuxedo, $745, shirt, $90, by Joseph a Hat, $155, from Meyer'the Hatter. Tie, $125, by John V

BEN JAFFE: DIRECTOR, TUBA

Three-piece suit, $1,295, and

shirt, $250, by Z Zegna.

Shoes (shown on opening

spread), $70, byAldo.

k JOE LASTIE JR.: DRUMS

* Suit, $595, by Jack Victor.

, Shirt, $275, by Mel Gambert Bespoke.

'Tie, $130, by J.M. Dickens of London.

Pocket square, $50, by Thomas Pink.

Hat (shown on opening spread), $150, |, from Meyer the Hatter.

NIEL FARROW: SAXOPHONE

cket, $90, and matching trousers, tO, from J. Ferrar byJCPenney. hirt, $145, by BOSS Black. fTie, $105, by Thomas Pink. :

please. A $12 cover charge. Three nights a week. Four sets a night. Most visitors stay for all of them, angling for seats. The band's rotating roster of musicians ranges in age from early 30s to late 70s, but it's all both timeless and of the moment. The room jumps and vibrates within the dim, plank-floored, cell-block-size concert hall with cement walls so naturally trompe I'oeil you'd think it a Hollywood set, a Wild West hoosegow by way of 18th century Spain.

The playboy crew was honored to be welcomed into the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's ranks on its off time, with members breaking into spontaneous riffs and many of their own compo­sitions, and director and tuba player Ben Jaffe (with the help of his lovely wife) even cooking

MARK BRAUD: TRUMPET

Suit, $895 •-"""-"¦"i-

Shoes (sho

FREDERIC ¦ Shoes. <

RICKIE MQNIE: PIANO

Jacket, $100, and matching trousers, $5O,_

from Billy London by JCPenney. ¦ ¦'

Shirt, $125, by BOSS,B,J

Tie, $130, and po&ej

by J.M. Dickens of London.

Vintage Ray-Ban glasses, RicKle.'

up red beans and rice for the shooting gang's grist.

There was no mourning (more a tip of the brim) for the lost souls of New Orleans-or for its ongoing oil spill disaster-as the band packed up instrument cases and second-line umbrel­las and took to the Garden District's labyrinthine Lafayette Cemetery to perform and march through the decrepit tombs, with grand marshal Joe Lastie Jr. leading the way for the tradi­tional funeral march "Just a Closer Walk With Thee."

Lastie lost his safety-pinned pants along the route-

causing the band to break into fits of laughter, breaking the funereal silence-but none of his dignity. Then, grabbing the light moment, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band switched gears and flew into the up-tempo joy of "Oh Didn't He Ramble." And the band played on.

New Orleanians. Murder rates don't kill them, hurricanes don't stop them, oil spills don't even slow them down. Pack up your troubles in an old kit bag and smile. As a class act personified, the Hall preserves.

CHARLIE GABRIEL: CLARINET, SAXOPHONE

Jacket, $120, and matching

trousers, $60, from

Stafford by JCPenney.

Shirt, $185, by Thomas Pink.

Tie, $125, by John Varvatos.

Cuff links, $395, by Baade II.

1 oes (shown ori opening spread)