Allan Jaffe Jazz Funeral for New Orleans Marine Hospital 1981

Allan Phillip Jaffe (April 24, 1935,

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is a city and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the wes ...

– March 9, 1987,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tubist The tuba has been played since the mid-19th century, in the midst of the Romantic music, Romantic period of Western Classical music. Along with classical music, the instrument appears in a variety of jazz styles as well Film music, film and circus ...

and the entrepreneur who, along with his wife Sandra, developed

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

into a New Orleans jazz tradition. Jaffe's grandfather was Russian-Jewish as was his father-the grandfather played

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. His father was a

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

player and teacher. Jaffe learned piano and

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

before settling on tuba in

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

. He studied at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

before joining the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. He was stationed to

Fort Polk, Louisiana Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Named after New Yo ...

. Following his discharge, Jaffe moved to

in 1961, where he took over management of

. As owner of the facility, he played a major role in the New Orleans jazz revival of the 1960s, shepherding the latter-day careers of George Lewis, Jim Robinson, Alcide Pavageau,

Punch Miller Ernest Miller, also known as Punch Miller or Kid Punch Miller (June 10, 1894 – December 2, 1971), was an American traditional jazz trumpeter. Miller was born in Raceland, Louisiana, United States. He was known in New Orleans, Louisiana, where ...

Chester Zardis Chester Zardis (May 27, 1900, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States – August 14, 1990, in New Orleans) was an American jazz double-bassist. Zardis played bass from a young age, and studied without his disapproving mother's knowledge, under ...

, Kid Sheik Cola,

Percy Humphrey Percy Gaston Humphrey (January 13, 1905 – July 22, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to his band, Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, for more than thirty years he was lead ...

Willie Humphrey Willie James Humphrey (December 29, 1900 – June 7, 1994) was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist. Willie Humphrey was born in a musical family, the son of prominent local clarinetist and music teacher Willie Eli Humphrey; his brothers Earl Humphrey ...

Kid Thomas Valentine Kid Thomas (1896–1987), born Thomas Valentine, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Kid Thomas was born in Reserve, Louisiana and came to New Orleans in his youth. In the early 1920s, he gained a reputation as a hot trumpet man. Star ...

, Billie and De De Pierce, and others. He also played the tuba in the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a ...

and took the group on tours worldwide, booking them into the finest music and performance halls and making appearances at cultural events of note even in small communities. Jaffe's son, Ben Jaffe, is a

double-bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has ...

and tuba player, who now leads and performs with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

References

*Floyd Levin, "Allan Jaffe (i)". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Allan 1935 births 1987 deaths American jazz tubists Jewish jazz musicians American male jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American musicians University of Pennsylvania alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century American male musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members Olympia Brass Band members