The Original Pinettes Brass Band are perhaps the world’s only all-female brass band. Founded in 1991 at a local all-girls Catholic high school, The Original Pinettes have performed at venues and festivals around the city and, eventually, around the world. Christy Jourdain l... Read more

Mikayla Braun can bring down the house with just her smoky, powerful voice, her ukulele, and a piano, although she can often be found with a cast of all-star musicians. The talented songwriter is a club staple around the Crescent City and beyond. Her latest EP, “Drift,” off... Read more

Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins embodies the exuberant spirit of Louis Armstrong and the New Orleans entertainment culture. He co-founded the Rebirth Brass Band and is perhaps best known for performing with his longtime group, The Barbecue Swingers. Born in 1964, Ruffins took up ... Read more

Joe Gelini is New Orleans drummer and songsmith perhaps best known for his work with the Grammy-nominated Mardi Gras Indian funk band Cha Wa. The Berklee-trained drummer honed his chops with New Orleans legends ranging from Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Cyril Neville to Ande... Read more

Joe Ashlar is a versatile jazz organist and pianist who can be found performing around the world and in New Orleans with The Joe Ashlar Organ Trio, Good Enough for Good Times, YYRP, and a host of other groups. Ashlar incorporates New Orleans funk, the spirituality of Dr. Lo... Read more

Grammy-winning singer Irma Thomas had her first hit in 1959, and over the course of a six-decade career has earned the title, “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” Born in 1941 in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Thomas was raised in New Orleans, singing in school and in church choirs, wher... Read more

Gregg Stafford is a traditional jazz trumpeter and music educator who has led the Young Tuxedo Brass Band for over 30 years and is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the city’s brass bands. Stafford grew up amidst New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood and the New Orl... Read more

Gerald French carries the mantle of jazz on his giant shoulders as the leader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, arguably the oldest jazz band in the world. The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, was founded in 1910 by cornetist Oscar “Papa” Celestin, and run for many years by Geral... Read more

Doyle “Red” Cooper took up the trumpet at age 10; by the time he turned 30 he’d played the Jazzfest nearly 50 times. Today he is a fixture on the trad jazz scene, playing trumpet or tuba, in his own Doyle Cooper Jazz Band or with the Storyville Stompers, the Red Hot Brass B... Read more

C. R. Gruver is a keyboardist, educator, and bandleader who can usually be found performing with the hard-touring New Orleans Suspects or as head of the New Orleans School of Rock youth program. His musical stylings emerge from a multitude of influences ranging from Little ... Read more