The story of the Perseverance Jazz Band goes back to the early 1970s, and a newspaper's Christmas party where the music just wasn't working.

So Henry Long Sr. and a few co-workers decided to have a little fun and play a New Orleans-style version of Jingle Bells.The sound was an instant hit, and the band would become known as the Perseverance Jazz Band."We just got together and played jingle bells - we just jazzed it up and people went nuts. They loved it," he said.Now with its members long retired, and some passed away, the band is still going. They will take the stage Sunday at noon at the Palmerton Community Festival."We branch out into a variety of music - a little country, some polkas, some old standards, blues and some Dixieland," said Henry Long Sr., the band's founder. "Then we're about done by that time."Long says after their first performance of Jingle Bells, the band basically would show up at gigs and play whatever requests their audiences called out. They never really went out of their way to promote the band, but by word of mouth, they have managed to string together a 40-year run.Even today, when a band member proposes a new piece of music, they don't go out and buy sheet music."We don't use any music, if somebody knows a number, we just play it," Long said.Long plays the trumpet and harmonica. His son plays the drums and sings.They also have a clarinet, a trombone, a keyboard player and bass."We're quite a unique bunch," Long said.