Two of America’s great cultural ambassadors bring together the soul of New Orleans with the joy of Gospel as The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts presents “Down by the Riverside,” featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama and Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Friday, January 29, 2010. Tickets are $52-77.
The Blind Boys of Alabama thrill and inspire audiences the world over. Formed in 1939, The Blind Boys still continue to create critically acclaimed recordings and reach new career heights even today. In recent years the group has won four consecutive Grammy Awards, were featured on 60 Minutes, Regis & Kelly, The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, performed on the 2005 Grammy Awards telecast, and appeared in the 2003 movie The Fighting Temptations alongside Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr. They sang a Phil Collins tune in Disney’s Brother Bear animated film, and were also the inspiration for the Steven Bochco TV series Blind Justice. The Blind Boys have also been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and awarded the NEA’s Heritage Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement, as well as many other prestigious honors, earning them the true distinction of “living gospel legends.”
Dedicated to preserving and perpetuating New Orleans Jazz, the world renowned, Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from the venerable music venue founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe. Located in the heart of the French Quarter, Preservation Hall presents New Orleans Jazz on a nightly basis. Post Katrina, the band’s mission became increasingly important as a result of the severe physical and cultural loss due to the flooding of New Orleans. The son of the founders and Creative Director, Ben Jaffe, co founded The New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief which continues to operate today as Sweet Home New Orleans: Renew Our Music. The band’s response to the destruction was the release of “Made In New Orleans: The Hurricane Sessions” a scrapbook of Preservation Hall memorabilia from the Preservation Hall archives, new recordings and tracks recovered from the flooded Seasaint Studios as well as a DVD of historic Preservation Hall performances. The band was awarded the 2006 National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest level of recognition by the Federal Government. Today, the band is comprised of musicians all born and raised in New Orleans.
Many have performed together for over 40 years. The band tours worldwide carrying on the musical legacy and varied traditions of New Orleans.
Tickets at 973-539-8008 or mayoarts.org.
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