Big Easy at the pier in Santa Monica

Venue and attraction proved an excellent match Thursday at the Santa Monica Pier. On one of the summer’s first balmy evenings, the 19th Annual Twilight Dance Series kicked off a 10-week concert series with a spirited performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

New Orleans jazz, sometimes called Dixieland music, has become one of the great stylized genres of American music. And the PHJB plays it with a vigor and enthusiasm that makes every performance seem like a Mardi Gras celebration.

The PHJB regularly rotates its personnel, and the great strength of this group -- led by trumpeter John Brunious, clarinetist Ralph Johnson and trombonist Frank Demond -- was the Big Easy-going manner in which it handled the driving swing of the New Orleans style.

There was nothing especially surprising about the group’s repertoire. All the familiar numbers were present, from “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” to the blues. Toss in a few enthusiastic vocals, some high-spirited soloing and a bit of humorous high jinks and the evening had the foot-stomping qualities of the band’s performances in New Orleans’ Preservation Hall.

It was precisely the sort of music that makes the Twilight Dance Series one of the summer’s most attractive settings. Melodically appealing, rhythmically engaging music combined perfectly with the image of stilt walkers among the crowd, clouds of bubbles and the incomparable view of a Pacific sunset.

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Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Where: Warner Park, Califa Street and Topanga Boulevard, Woodland Hills

When: Sunday, 6 p.m.

Price: Free

Contact: (818) 704-1358