On Thursday, Preservation Hall Jazz Band served as the house band for the City Parks Foundation Gala at New York’s Central Park SummerStage. Before the dinner and concert, a number of notable guests were confirmed to join Pres Hall during their set, including Roots MC Black Thought, pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph, singer St. Vincent and Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan, the latter of whom served as the event’s musical director. SNL star Kenan Thompson was the master of ceremonies for the night, which marked the 40th anniversary of SummerStage and honored SummerStage founder Joe Killian and Access Industries chairman Alex Blavatnik. Relix publisher and concert promoter Pete Shapiro, who is a board member at SummerStage, also feted Blavatnik from the stage.
A few unannounced guests also made their way to Central Park throughout the evening. Lizzo, who like St. Vincent performed with the New York Philharmonic at Radio City Music Hall on the same night, jetted over to join Pres Hall for “Summertime” and her “About Damn Time.” In addition, Phish bassist Mike Gordon made a surprise appearance with Pres Hall on the New Orleans classic “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which also featured some notable work from Randolph.
The timing of Gordon’s cameo was particularly appropriate. Exactly 25 years earlier, the bassist made a surprise appearance at Shapiro’s club Wetlands with Project Logic as part of the club’s closing celebration. It wrapped up early in the morning of September 11, just hours before the terrorist attacks a few blocks away. Warren Haynes and Stanley Jordan also sat in during that famed show.
