(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – New Orleans’s renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs at The Clark on Friday,  June 28, 2013, at 8 pm. The group is the house band at Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of the city’s French Quarter and founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe. The band has traveled worldwide, spreading their mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans jazz — a mission strengthened by the devastation brought about by Hurricane Katrina in 2007.

PHJB began touring in 1963. Many of the band’s charter members performed with the pioneers who invented jazz in the early twentieth century, including Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Bunk Johnson.

Band leaders over the PHJB’s history include the brothers Willie and Percy Humphrey, husband and wife De De and Billie Pierce, famed pianist Sweet Emma Barrett, and Wendall and John Brunious. These founding artists and dozens of others passed on the culture of their music to a younger generation, who now follows in their footsteps.

Under the auspices of current director Ben Jaffe, son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall continues as a venue, band, and record label.

A three-course dinner preceding the concert will be served at 6 pm in the Clark Café. Cost is $27 per person (does not include beverage, tax, or gratuity). Reservations are required; space is limited. For reservations, call 413 458 0524 or email Maria Gamari at mgamari@clarkart.edu.

Advance tickets are $42 ($38 members and students), or $45 at the door. Reserve tickets at The Clark or call 413 458 0524.