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

Josh Paxton studied piano with Ellis Marsalis, and the keyboard master’s style is a combination of New Orleans' deep piano traditions inflected with modern jazz twists, classical technique, and a funky rhythmic drive. He’s toured with a wide range of artists ranging from Br... Read more

Jon Roniger & The Good for Nothin’ Band gets dancers shakin’ with their original, greasy, jazzy rock-blues tunes and dynamic stage energy. With a tightly charted horn section, wryly humorous lyrics, and Roniger’s entreating vocals and fretwork, the band is a festival and cl... Read more

Jon Gross powers his tuba and sousaphone sounds with New Orleans-inflected energy and passion. Gross can be found with more traditional Crescent City jazz bands such as the Treme Brass Band, Loose Marbles and the Panorama Jazz Band, or exploring the outer edges of jazz in p... Read more

Johnny Vidacovich has brought his impeccable jazz drumming to countless bandstands over the course of his sixty-plus year career, with his own combos, as a side-man, and as a member of Astral Project, New Orleans’ venerable contemporary jazz powerhouse. He has been called “... Read more

John Boutte grew up in New Orleans’ culture-rich Treme neighborhood, and it is only fitting that the impeccable vocalist is best known for penning “Treme Song,” the theme for the critically–acclaimed HBO series of the same name. Boutte’s unique voice and dynamic stage style... 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

Jesse McBride is an exciting and adventurous pianist and bandleader; the Tulane professor brings the legacies of jazz fathers Ellis Marsalis and Harold Battiste to his own thoughtful and forward-moving piano style and is committed to developing the next generation of jazz m... Read more

Jamil Sharif is a native New Orleans trumpeter and vocalist who has performed around the world and recorded with a wide range of musical luminaries ranging from Wynton Marsalis to Dr. John to Marcia Ball. His flexibility extends to his repertoire, which ranges from traditio... Read more