NONFICTION - June 23, 1991

PRESERVATION HALL by William Carter (W.W. Norton: $29.95; 315 pp.). The renowned jazz hall on St. Peter St. in New Orleans’ French Quarter has been a tourist mecca for so long, it seems the bands there have always been famous. Not so. The oil paintings of legendary musicians that line the walls are a reminder that this humble establishment evolved out of an art gallery where forgotten, down-at-the-heels pioneer jazzmen from the heyday of the ‘20s played pass-the-hat sessions. Preservation Hall was established to keep a dying tradition alive. William Carter’s history weaves together personal anecdote, oral history, research and vintage photos in a style entirely suited to the music he loves.