The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band, while not well known in the U.S.A. other than, perhaps, in New Orleans itself, enjoys wide recognition in Europe. Based in Lyon, France, it was formed by Jean-Pierre Alessi originally as a quartet with himself on reeds and lacking a piano, and later became a sextet or sometimes a septet. Regardless of size, the band, as its name suggests, is firmly in the revival mode.
A giant contributor to this New Orleans revival approach is the drummer, Herlin McFly (real name Vincent Hurel). He it is who provides that pulse, that driving palpitation that underlies what we hear and feel, whether the band be playing ensemble or providing backing for the one playing lead. And McFly has indeed heard well what the old New Orleans drummers were doing, as Marcel Joly says in his liner notes:
[McFly] stayed for two years in New Orleans where he played with all the local musicians. He loves all the New Orleans drummers . . . and has mastered the famous New Orleans street beat to a T.
There is nothing flashy about McFly’s playing, no dazzling us with an excess of technique—he is content just to provide the heartbeat of the New Orleans style, to propel the band ever forward.
His masterful bass drum syncopation contributes largely to this movement, accompanied by the careful pressed rolls and judicious use of cymbals, along with rimshots, for accent. He
