Walter Isaacson is the bestselling author of biographies of Elon Musk, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. He is a professor of history at Tulane and was CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2023.

He is also a huge fan of Preservation Hall, citing it as as a personal musical touchstone in a 2025 podcast.

Since its founding in 1961, Preservation Hall has been dedicated to preserving New Orleans musical traditions. From its inception, founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe fostered a community of inclusion, committed to the preservation of New Orleans Jazz and to caring for elder musicians.

Normally, more than 150,000 visitors attend memorable shows with the 60 musicians who make up the Hall’s Musical Collective at 726 St. Peter Street. While the building may not have changed much over its history, the Hall ensures that musical traditions are revered and celebrated, while allowing it to breathe and evolve with the contributions of subsequent generations, and raise up those who play and appreciate it.

Situated in the heart of the French Quarter, the Preservation Hall venue presents intimate, acoustic New Orleans Jazz concerts over 360 nights a year. On any given night, audiences bear joyful witness to the evolution of this venerable and living tradition.

Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band are national treasures that keep this most American of art forms alive and relevant with tours across the United States and around the world. But like all arts organizations, they need funding to survive.

Please join Walter Isaacson and us for this Force for Good online event with the leaders of the Preservation Hall Foundation and musical guests, and who will share their experiences with this national treasure and what you can do to keep it thriving for generations to come.