Friday, March 24, 2006
New Orleans history takes another hit with the passing of a local music legend
Ever since Hurricane Katrina hit I've been thinking quite often of my one and only trip there twelve years ago, and most specifically hearing the legendary Preservation Hall Band. They play in a tiny little building and you have to stand in the back and wait your turn to sit on the floor infront around them. It's cramped and I was sweaty and had a sore backside by the time you've had your turn, but to hear a legend it was a small price to pay and I left feeling I was taking a small piece of history with me.
Yesterday, I read in the New York Times that last friday Narvin Kimball, the last of the original members of the Preservation Hall Band passed away ending a legacy. He was 97 years old. The two most prominent feelings I had upon reading this were that I was glad I'd been afforded the chance to view this amazing part of New Orleans musical history and also I was saddend for those who would never get the chance.
He died at his daughters' home. He and his wife were staying with her since just after Hurricane Katrina hit the area. He was known for his banjo playing and also for his singing. (1)"Mr. Kimball's vocal renditions of 'Georgia on My Mind' always brought standing ovations," said Preservation Hall's director, Ben Jaffe. "He was really our last connection to a bygone time in the history of New Orleans."
(1)"He made his first banjo with a cigar box, stick and string." In the 1920's he began his career with the Fate Marable Band, and recorded his first record with Columbia Records in 1928. The Gentlemen of Jazz also known as the Preservation Hall band due to the name of the dwellling they played in was formed by him in 1961. His last performance with the band was in 1999 for PBS.
(2)"The band has been referred to by one music critic as "a bridge across the ages - a link between the present day and the heyday of traditional New Orleans music." In the hearts of jazz fans lies the feverent hope that the new members will continue to uphold the tradition started by this legendary Bourbon Street band so that this precious link isn't severed.
(1)http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/arts/music/21kimball.html
(2) http://www.brevard.edu/news/archives/2003/articles/
preservation.htm
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