Abrams ’93 Co-Authors Book About New Orleans Jazz Landmark

Eve Abrams ’93 has written the text of a new book (with photographs by Shannon Brinkman) about Preservation Hall (Louisiana State University), a legendary music venue in New Orleans.

Since the early 1960s, this building in the French Quarter has served as a sanctuary for the Crescent City’s rich and illustrious jazz heritage, a haven for players, and an incubator for successive generations of jazz musicians. Each night the venue fills to the rafters with devoted fans and curious tourists eager to hear live traditional jazz performed by both veteran musicians and up-and-coming players.

The performance space is simple, and a large portion of the audience must stand in the back, behind a limited number of benches, chairs, and floor cushions. Documentarian Abrams and New Orleans photographer Brinkman capture the essence of this historic club through band members’ heartfelt words and dazzling images of the musicians with their instruments and the venue itself. The book also includes brief biographies of the jazz players.