Preservation Brass
For Fat Man
Subpop
Preservation Hall is a New Orleans institution that, since it’s founding in 1961, has been “committed to the preservation of New Orleans Jazz and to caring for elder musicians.” The Preservation Hall Foundation’s website states “We believe that tradition is not just a static body of knowledge. It’s the personal bond between generations of practitioners that allows culture to be transmitted and made meaningful in the present.” Every night, some of the 60 musicians who are members of the Foundation gather at the ramshackle hall in the French Quarter to play traditional New Orleans Jazz, sometimes called Dixieland Jazz. The Hall also has an array of educational programs to ensure that new generations of musicians learn and love this music.
In 2025, it can be a little confusing when you talk about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. There are actually several bands associated with the Hall. The most prominent is the band led by bassist/sousaphonist Ben Jaffe. This is the band that has been releasing great records of original music in recent years. This is the group that played with the Foo Fighters and Black Keys, among others. There is another touring Preservation Hall Jazz Band that, like the Jaffe-led band, leans into the soul and funk sounds of New Orleans. Then there is the Preservation Brass, who play the traditional jazz the Hall was founded on. This is the band that you’re most likely to find at the Hall or parading through the streets of the French Quarter.
For Fat Man is the Grammy-nominated debut from the Preservation Brass. The album is dedicated to Kerry “Fat Man” Hunter, the percussionist who played bass drum on the record and was a long time stalwart at Preservation Hall. The album is a joyful collection of traditional jazz numbers, with most standards in the brass band canon.
“Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home” is a chestnut played with verve and sly humor. “Medley” strings together “Indian Red” and other staples of the Mardi Gras season in a swinging, butt-shaking groove. “Careless Love” is a slow drag, like the band would play leading a jazz funeral procession. The rest of the album is the sort of high-spirited music they would play on the way home from the cemetery. It’s all a celebration of life. There are nods to the Mardi Gras Indian tradition scattered throughout the record. The opening “Indian Percussion Intro” features the kind of rhythms you’d hear on St. Joseph Day or Mardi Gras morning, “Big Child Coming” is a traditional Indian chant, as is the closing “Fiyaya.” The album has pristine sound. The trombones growl on “Slide Frog Slide” and the sousaphone keeps the pulse moving on “Hot Sausage Rag.” The trumpets sing and the clarinet soars and tying it all together is the indomitable pulse of the Fat Man’s bass drum.
