Preservation Hall Jazz Band "Creole Christmas"

Join the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as they take to The Clayton Center stage on Saturday, Dec. 3, to celebrate the winter holidays with their wildly popular holiday presentation Creole Christmas.

This holiday season marks the eighth year that this venerable group has taken their infectious holiday spirit on the road. Seasonal favorites to be performed will include “Blue Christmas,” “Swinging In A Winter Wonderland,” and “Bells Will Be Ringin.”

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the historic music venue founded in 1961 in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. The hall has remained the city's premier venue for the performance of original, traditional New Orleans-style jazz and is a mecca for tourists and locals alike who wish to come and hear the authentic sounds of early New Orleans jazz in the city where the genre began. Since opening its doors to the public, it has been the mission of Preservation Hall to showcase the national treasures of traditional New Orleans jazz music.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band has traveled worldwide continuing the mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans Jazz. As the band celebrates 50 years, it still represents the best opportunity for music fans the world over to experience this unique style of jazz music.

The band’s current roster represents a direct lineage from the earliest incarnations of New Orleans jazz, featuring some of the greatest and most historic musicians touring the globe today. These unforgettable, multi-generational players include Ben Jaffe, son of Preservation Hall founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe, creative director and tuba; Mark Braud, trumpet and vocals; Charlie Gabriel, clarinet and vocals; Joseph Lastie, Jr., drums; Freddie Lonzo, trombone; Rickie Monie, piano; and Clint Maedgen, tenor saxophone and vocals.

When they are not on the road, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band lends its time and talent to numerous projects. Recently, the band has collaborated with Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz and Trombone Shorty on a benefit single to aid the Gulf Coast in the wake of the oil catastrophe. They also released a benefit album featuring Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Jim James, Richie Havens, Pete Seeger and others. Proceeds from the album continue to benefit the Preservation Hall venue as well as their educational outreach program.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. Preservation Hall Jazz concert are $29 and are available by phone at 919-553-1737, at The Clayton Center Box Office from 10 a.m. until noon and from 1 until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.theclaytoncenter.com.

All shows in the 2011-2012 Palladian Series are held in the renovated and historic 600-seat auditorium at 111 E. Second St. in downtown Clayton, located about 15 miles east of Raleigh.

The next scheduled show in the Palladian Series is comedian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at 8 p.m.

Other popular artists presented in past seasons at The Clayton Center include Kathy Mattea, Dianne Reeves, Ricky Skaggs, Johnny Winter, Jesse Cook, Jim Brickman, Doc Watson, Eileen Ivers, Riders In the Sky, the Harlem Gospel Choir and David Sedaris.