JAZZED UP: Just a few weeks ago at a White House ceremony,
President George Bush conferred the National Medal of Arts to the
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the legendary group appearing here at
7:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Bromeley Family Theater on Pitt-Bradford’s
campus.

Dedicated to preserving New Orleans jazz, the world-renowned
Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs traditional New Orleans music
and derives its name from the venerable music venue -The
Preservation Hall – which is located in the heart of the French
Quarter in New Orleans.

This will mark the first regional appearance by these great
musicians.

Speaking of the band, the folks at the Bradford Creative and
Performing Arts Center tell us they were at first hesitant about
booking the group because of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. BCPAC
president Karen Buchheit said their planners had concerns.

“We wondered,” she told RTS, “how the tragedy of Katrina would
affect our Bradford audience.”

She needn’t have worried. BCPAC insiders tell us the show is
nearly sold out.

“I think the images and the stories of the hurricane – and the
precarious fate of New Orleans overall – have made these songs and
this band much more powerful and far more anticipated than we ever
expected,” said Buchheit.

The band’s repertoire includes such favorites as “Bill Bailey
(Won’t You Please Come Home),” “Go to the Mardi Gras,” “I Wish I
Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate,” “My Blue Heaven” and “Please
Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone,” among others.

“The classic we all know, of course, is ‘When the Saints Go
Marchin’ In,’ ” Buchheit adds.

“It’s part party song, part funeral dirge,” she said. “Very New
Orleans. And in light of Katrina, it’s a contemporary musical
prayer.”

If you want to be “in that number” to hear that number, Buchheit
suggests contacting BCPAC soon.

SNOW BIRDS: Jeff Valenti of Austin called to say that on Sunday,
he and his daughter, Rayna, saw nine robins in a tree in his
backyard – an odd sight, considering there were 2 to 4 inches of
snow covering the ground.

John Keesee of Mount Jewett, who works for PennDOT, tells us he
spotted a robin in Westline Friday.

Some advice for those robins? Look over those southern flight
plans since Old Man Winter isn’t through with us yet. The forecast,
at least for the immediate future, looks like winter is just
settling in.