There's this strange feeling that hits you right when you enter the city of New Orleans. It's as if all cares and worries had immediately been erased and all that matters is good music and good times.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is dedicated to one thing - preserving those jazz roots. The group tours but almost always can be found in the ancient building known as Preservation Hall, located on Bourbon Street.

The band's "Shake That Thing" hits you with the same loosening aura as that humid, sweet, southeastern Louisiana air. The band has been releasing albums since 1966. While the group has seen many changes, such as the deaths of key performers and a contract stint with Columbia and Sony, "Shake That Thing" is the first album the band has released on Preservation Hall Recordings.

One word of caution, though, swingin' N'Awlins jazz isn't for everyone. This is pure old-school jazz with strong Louisiana Cajun/Creole influences. There's no glamour involved. The best part of the album is the New Orleans influence of gospel, jazz, Cajun and blues that makes the mix funky.

The eight-song album introduces several musicians to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, namely well-known New Orleans horn musicians, such as Leroy Jones and Dr. Michael White.

"Eh, la Bas" means "Hey, over there" in Louisiana Creole. The banjo and Creole vocals, both provided by Don Vappie, are fantastic and make you feel like you're dancing on a rickety porch next to a moonlit swamp, but without the gators or bird-sized mosquitoes.

"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is played in the beautiful, traditional New Orleans jazz way. The trumpet overpowers the long-standing hymn, but the background banjo keeps the ears perked throughout the entire six-minute song.

"Little Liza Jane" is probably closest to what most people would associate with New Orleans jazz. The boogie rhythm within the song is perpetually changing, and once the down-home, rootsy vocals of drummer Shannon Powell come in, it's hard not to get wrapped up in the song completely. Powell's steady but fast jazz percussion sets down the perfect beat for this energizing Dixieland tune.

"Back Porch" is the eighth and final song on the album and features the deep Louis Armstrong-influenced jazz vocals of Gregg Stafford.

"I love her in spring time, summer, winter and fall/ But last night on the back porch I loved her best of all."

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band represents everything that charms people about New Orleans, except for Girls Gone Wild.

If you like this, you also might like: Professor Longhair, Dr. John, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Suggested listening: While picking apart crawdads in a French Quarter restaurant.