Preservation Hall, a weathered music venue situated in the heart of the New Orlean's French Quarter, is home to a jazz band that has mastered a style of music it calls New Orleans jazz.

Saturday night, the band will bring some flavor of the city to State College.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays jazz music in which the tempo is a tad slower than in other forms of jazz and the melody is coupled with a great deal of improvisation.

"We like to think of ourselves as ambassadors of New Orleans music," Ben Jaffe, director and tuba player, said. "We literally move audiences to experience the beauty and magic of New Orleans."

Jaffe's parents, Allan and Sandra, founded the band in 1961 to help ensure New Orleans' native art form would continue to thrive, Jaffe said. The band opts for the beauty of simplicity over complicated arrangements of traditional tunes such as "When the Saints Go Marching In."

"People are able to get a unique New Orleans experience at one of our concerts. It's a great thing for the band to be able to share their New Orleans experience with audiences," Jaffe said.

The band is made up of 15 musicians ranging in age from 30 to 70, Jaffe said. The instruments played differ from tuba to piano to percussion and clarinet, among others.

"Our band is comprised of some of the oldest New Orleans musicians alive," he said.

Laura Sullivan, marketing and communications director for the Center for the Performing Arts (CPA), said the organization has an ongoing jazz program each year.

"Our jazz program always has strong support from the community," she said. "[Preservation Hall] is a real staple in the jazz performers field, and when we saw they were touring, we were excited to bring them here."

CPA tries to bring a varied mix of jazz groups for each season, Sullivan said.

"We try to bring a bunch of different types of jazz. This season we had Count Basie, which is a very big jazz band; Bela Fleck, which is contemporary jazz, and now we have Preservation Hall, which is very traditional," she said.

Jaffe, who plays the tuba for the band, chose the instrument because it was the same one his father played.

"My father played the tuba so it was a given," he said. "But also, it's the biggest instrument out there and as a kid, it was like grabbing the biggest bag of chocolate."

New Orleans jazz has origins in the late 1800s and has evolved over the last 100 years, Jaffe said. He said it is influenced by the music of the 1920s and is accessible to all ages.

"It's difficult to describe music. It's like trying to describe a color. You have to experience the music firsthand to truly understand," Jaffe said. "For those unfamiliar, it is also likened to 1920s dance music but not pop music."

Sullivan said the band appeals to young people because it uses multimedia as a form of promotion.

"They put a very hip and young spin on traditional music," she said. "They are very into making videos to promote their music."

This concert will be a great chance for students to expose themselves to this type of music, Jaffe said. It will not only expose the audience to the music of New Orleans but to the culture as well.

"The music is incredibly entertaining," he said. "What I like to say is, 'If you don't like to dance or have a good time, then this concert is not for you.' "