“So you’re having your next convention in New Orleans, the Birthplace of Jazz. Sure, we’ll confirm famed Saints quarterback Drew Brees, LSU football Head Coach Ed Orgeron (with his Cajun accent that few can understand), or even NOLA-based Archie Manning (the father of Peyton and Eli) to motivate and inspire while welcoming your team to Louisiana. But in the city where Jazz was first introduced to America, no conference is complete without a clear understanding of just how this era of music got started there in New Orleans in the late 1800’s. And no better storyteller than Ben Jaffe, the lead of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. And for a conference coming to New Orleans, Ben and his band have a turn-key program that is the ultimate General Session.

This summer, HD Vest brought 3,000 attendees to New Orleans for HD Vest Connect, their Annual Conference for their financial advisors.

Ben Jaffe gave a 20-minute speech on the history of Jazz in the United States–how it’s birthplace was right there in The French Quarter and how black musicians and white musicians weren’t even allowed to play together. Ben even talks about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on their city; here’s some excerpts from a touching piece that Ben wrote about that storm . After Ben’s keynote, the President of HD Vest came on stage and led a Q&A session for the audience–and afterwards the band played a 35-minute set. An extremely powerful appearance and the band will be on hand to perform at additional times during your conference.

Expect even more high profile awareness next year as Ben Jaffe’s documentary Tuba to Cuba comes out in 2019 and The Band will be on a major US tour in the Fall that will end in Cuba. And portions of The Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s keynote fees are donated to The Preservation Hall Education Foundation.

Here’s a neat article about the band: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/preservation-hall-gets-back-its-signature-sousaphone/”