Preservation Hall Jazz Band – A Tuba to Cuba (Original Soundtrack CD)

New Orleans and the shores of Cuba are about a thousand miles apart, close enough to have instigated a centuries-old cultural exchange and shared historical touchstones but, in other ways, so far from one another. NOLA's Preservation Hall Jazz Band visited the island in 2015 and made a documentary film about their travels, and this collection is ostensibly its soundtrack, augmented by new tunes written on their return. Its diversity is its greatest strength: Cuba, like New Orleans, is not about one style of music, and A Tuba to Cuba does as much as possible within its 43 minutes to make that clear. Its leadoff track, all 49 forlorn and yearning seconds of it, features a lone tenor saxophone played in a small space somewhere in Havana by Clint Maedgen, but the mood picks up soon enough with "Tumba," all pulsating polyrhythms and celebration. "Keep Your Head Up," featuring a lead vocal by the alluring Eme Alfonso, is a spicy dish of condensed cream of party, irresistibly rhythmic—if the PHJB has ever had more fun cutting a tune, this fan would like to hear it. The liner notes liken the number's spellbinding chanting to a Mardi Gras Indians march in the band's hometown, and from there it's nothing but a straight line to Havana. As for that tuba, it's here, and there, but the Pres Hall folks aimed for, and discovered, something higher on this set, which runs the glorious gamut from the solo guitar of Alejandro Almenares, on "Las Palomas" (written by his father) to the sly Latin soul of "Kreyol" to the full-band blast of "I Am."

— Jeff Tamarkin, Relix

The legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band present the soundtrack to A Tuba to Cuba, the critically acclaimed documentary directed by T.G. Herrington and Danny Clinch. The film follows Ben Jaffe of New Orleans’ famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band as he seeks to fulfill his late father's dream of retracing their musical roots to the shores of Cuba in search of the indigenous music that gave birth to New Orleans jazz. A Tuba to Cuba celebrates the triumph of the human spirit expressed through the universal language of music and challenges us to resolve to build bridges, not walls. The New York Times said: “This joyous, wide-ranging account of a New Orleans jazz band's 2015 visit to Cuba is crammed with fascinating facts and toe-tickling tunes.” And, from the LA Times: “Jaunty, at times poetic chats and drop-ins with many Big Easy and Cuban jazz artists, discussion of their music’s African lineage (the Atlantic slave trade factored in), stirring examples of native instrumentation, and pulsating performances combine with colorful, travelogue-type shots (love those old Cuban theaters) and vivid archival footage to create a vibrant and joyous portrait.” Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Ben Jaffe said of “Kreyol,” the lead single from the soundtrack: “Every evening in Havana people gather along the waterfront to socialize. I’ve always been taken by the tempo at which people stroll, like New Orleans, there’s a very particular rhythm to their walk. That rhythm was the inspiration for ‘Kreyol.’ In fact, ‘Kreyol’ is the Cuban spelling of ‘Creole.’ You can feel that same Creole influence in New Orleans, it’s one of our many shared connections with Cuba.” (The film is available through Amazon Video, iTunes, DirecTV, Google Play, YouTube Movies and more. Check your local service provider for additional listings.) About Preservation Hall Jazz Band: At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history. Preservation Hall Jazz Band recently signed with Sub Pop Records, who are re-releasing the band’s 2013 album That’s It! (over 39,000 copies sold) and 2017’s So It Is on June 28th, with new music to follow.

UPC: 098787131024
Label: Sub Pop
Release Date: 11.29.19
Format: CD