Like most New Orleans-born-and-bred musicians, Ben Jaffe understands music not as a byproduct of the human experience but as a heart-deep part of that experience itself. Jaffe—tuba player, bassist and current leader/co-composer for the venerable Preservation Hall Jazz Band—comes by it honest, as they say. In 1961, his parents founded the Preservation Hall venue, a performance space especially notable during the Jim Crow era for being one of a handful in New Orleans open to both white and black players. What started as the venue’s de facto house band is now a pillar of the city’s musical history: a live performance, recording and educational outreach project 55 years strong and counting. PHJB’s new album, So It Is, continues the band’s longstanding custom of preserving and contributing new material to traditional New Orleans acoustic music. Jaffe will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our feature on the band.
Jaffe: I’ve always been inspired by great public art: murals, graffiti, street art. Philadelphia always comes to mind when I think of cities that embrace great public art. Mexico is treasure trove of public murals. There’s great art all around you, just look up, look around—you’re surrounded! In New Orleans, somebody paints koi fish on the ground. They’re only visible when you walk over them. Everything has the potential to be a stage or a canvas. There are hundreds of great artists, but some favorites include: Banksy, JR, Osgemos, Shepard Fairey and Swoon.
