NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Many years ago in tiny Pottsville, Pensylvania the son of a wallpaper and paint shop owner was a young sousaphone player, influenced by the sounds originating down south in the Crescent City.

Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall says, “My dad fell in love with New Orleans music when he was probably a teenager. There was this New Orleans Jazz renaissance that was happening, and my father was coming of age that post-World War II generation, and fell in love with all of the New Orleans jazz musicians.”

After graduating from a military academy on a tuba scholarship, the sweet sound of our jazz eventually drew a young Allan Jaffe to our city.  He came not only to hear the music but also to play with the masters making those sounds.

“He had this love for marching music, and for the sousaphone, and for the tuba. He saw that and recognized that element in New Orleans jazz. I think that’s why he loved New Orleans brass band music so much; he loved the pomp and circumstance of it all,” said the younger Jaffe.

Allan Jaffe’s love of the music was first and foremost. Jaffe also took steps to ensure the music would continue by shepherding the careers of many of the music’s stars, and along with his wife Sandra, developing the iconic Preservation Hall.

In the elder Jaffe’s own words, “What we’re trying to do here is just present the music the way the men want to play it. The people are sitting on wooden benches, sitting on the floor, there’s no drinks… pretty hot in there too in the summer. People come to hear just the music. I think the men realize this, the men play it the way they want to play it, and the people hear it! ”

Traveling the world playing traditional jazz with the masters that made the music, it was only natural that Jaffe was on the ground floor of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and an original member of the Jazz and Heritage Board of Directors.

Ben Jaffe says, “My father was very proud about Jazz Fest. It was something that he felt was a source of pride for him. Being a member of the board of directors, being a part of the festival, being a resource to the music community, and being knowledgeable about music.”