Roman Street, the Fairhope-based instrumental group led by brothers Josh and Noah Thompson, will perform Thursday at Mobile’s Saenger Theatre as part of an International Jazz Jam that also features New Orleans’ famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the group’s longtime mentors, Tonic Strings.
Josh Thompson, who formed the band with his brother Noah alongside bassist Jason Sikes and percussionists Daniel Brett and Nik White, credited Tonic Strings with shaping how the brothers approach music. “Tonic Strings truly exemplify what it means to be a musician,” Thompson said. “Not only have they affected how my brother and I play, but they have taught us that music is a lifelong pursuit and that we must always strive to be better.” Thompson also pointed to the brothers’ parents as a driving force behind the band’s success, saying their support has been essential.
New Album and a Full Touring Schedule
Roman Street released its latest album, “Amore,” in March, and Thompson said the record has been well received. The band is now touring as much as its schedule allows, largely sticking to shows around the region, while looking ahead to a Christmas album and the start of work on a new studio project next summer.
The group’s next major milestone is already on the calendar: an opening slot for guitarist Jesse Cook at the Saenger Theatre on January 21. Thompson called Cook “a phenomenal guitarist with an equally incredible band” and said the band is thrilled for the opportunity to share the stage with him.
Advice for Aspiring Musicians
Asked what he’d tell young musicians along the Gulf Coast interested in jazz, Thompson pointed back to the lesson Tonic Strings gave him. “Your music, of any style, is something to be shared with the world, and you should pursue music as a lifelong passion,” he said.
Preservation Hall’s New Orleans Roots
Sharing the bill is Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the touring ensemble tied to one of New Orleans’ most storied music institutions. Preservation Hall itself was purchased in 1961 by Ben Jaffe’s parents, Sandra and Allan Jaffe, who turned the French Quarter room into one of the world’s best-known jazz venues. The hall famously serves neither food nor liquor; instead, it charges a modest entrance fee for 45- to 60-minute sets built around traditional New Orleans jazz. Allan Jaffe, who died in 1987, is widely credited with helping preserve that traditional jazz sound at a time when it had fallen out of fashion elsewhere in the city.
Ben Jaffe, who grew up in the French Quarter and later graduated from Isidore Newman School and Oberlin College, eventually joined the band on bass and tuba and took over his father’s role as the hall’s director. Ahead of the Mobile date, Jaffe said Thursday’s show will be the band’s first time playing the city, though he has performed at the Saenger Theatre before, catching a Tom Waits concert there years earlier. He said he did not have personal ties to Mobile’s jazz scene going into the show but was looking forward to sharing the bill with Roman Street and Tonic Strings. The band keeps an intensive touring schedule, playing roughly 200 days a year.
Jaffe’s visit comes amid local discussion about whether Mobile could support a dedicated listening room in the same spirit as Preservation Hall — a venue built specifically to showcase the city’s own jazz musicians, who organizers say remain underappreciated relative to the depth of Mobile’s jazz heritage.