Jason Mingledorff is truly one of the hardest working men in show business, and is one of the city’s most versatile saxophonists and respected educators. The Grammy-winner can be heard with some of the world’s top bands as well as leading his own straight-ahead jazz combo. 

Mingledorff moved from his native Alabama to New Orleans to study with the legendary Ellis Marsalis, and quickly found work with bands such as the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, bluesman Mem Shannon, and a nascent Galactic, and touring nationally with country superstar Clint Black. For 13 years he was an integral part of the popular funk band Papa Grows Funk, and after that band broke up, he toured with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, opening for the Rolling Stones and jamming with the likes of Sir Elton John and Phillip Glass. At home, he can be found playing with English soul-jazz outfit The New Mastersounds, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, The Mishaps (a new incarnation of popular 9th Ward rockers King James & the Special Men), Papa Mali’s Shantytown Underground, and the WWII Museum Victory Swing Orchestra.

In addition, the talented artist is an in-demand sideman for some of the world’s top stars: Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, The Band, Peter Frampton, Michael MacDonald, Dr. John (including the Grammy-winning “City that Care Forgot” and Oscar-nominated “Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog), Harry Connick Jr., the Neville Brothers, The Temptations, and Anders Osborne. He has performed on hundreds of recordings and appeared on the HBO series Treme and in the Academy Award Best Picture Green Book.

Mingledorff is also a respected teacher, leading the saxophone department at Loyola University New Orleans and conducting workshops and master classes across the country. He recently took on the role of band leader with the 2023 release of his (surprisingly) first album, the much-acclaimed straight-ahead jazz Start It!