Norbert Susemihl is a German jazz trumpeter, drummer, and singer who divides his time between his native Hamburg, Denmark, and the Crescent City, where he is an in-demand performer with his own ensemble or as a guest artist.

Susemihl is a bridge between the older and younger generations of trad jazz artists, having played with founding fathers like Percy and Willie Humphrey, Frank Fields, "CoCoMo Joe" Joseph Barthelemy, Chester Zardis, and Danny Barker, among others. Born in 1956, he started playing guitar in his early teens, and soon found his way to both the trumpet and the early New Orleans jazz canon. He first made his way to the mothership in the late 1970s as part of a Fats Waller revue, and has continued to return to New Orleans every year to study and perform with both older and newer generations of jazz musicians. In addition to playing with the old masters, he soaked up everything he could on the music scene: gospel music in the Baptist churches, the Rebirth Brass Band at the Glasshouse and rise of the contemporary brass band form, and the emergence of modern jazz via the Marsalis family.

All these influences helped shape Susehiml’s style and deepened his knowledge base. Over the years he has gained stature for his musicianship and Crescent City sensibilities; he has led numerous bands – most recently, Norbert Susemihl’s Joyful Gumbo – around the world, and in Europe is considered one of the foremost New Orleans-style jazz trumpeters. He’s also played with many of today’s contemporary stars: Jason Marsalis, Shannon Powell, Herlin Riley, Davell Crawford, Gregory Agid, Craig Klein, and Oliver Bonie.

He has recorded and produced over 50 recordings both with his own bands and as soloist with others, and performs at clubs and festivals around the world. He can be found in New Orleans several months of each year.