Kid Merv is New Orleans music to the bone: as a youngster he played trumpet in the vaunted St. Augustine Marching 100 and the venerable Olympia Brass Band, moved on to form his own Young Olympians, which morphed into the funky Soul Rebels Brass Band. Born Mervin Campbell, K... 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

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

The Hot 8 Brass Band brings a younger funk style to the brass band scene, incorporating influences ranging from the Dirty Dozen to bounce, hip hop, and R & B. The Grammy-winning ensemble offers up energetic, horn-driven original tunes interspersed with crowd favorites. A pr... 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

Derrick “Smoker” Freeman is a man with many hats: drummer, songwriter, and leader of the soul-funk Soul Brass Band, the hip-hop Smokers World, the power trio MFG, and the Band of Freeman. He performs with a kaleidoscopic cast of New Orleans musicians ranging from Angelika “... Read more

Corey Henry came of age in the historic Treme neighborhood, surrounded by street parades, brass bands, and a family that includes some of New Orleans’ most treasured musicians. Amidst that village, it’s no surprise that Henry has matured into one of the city’s more dynamic ... Read more

The Brass-A-Holics Go-Go Brass Funk Band combines the sensibilities of a New Orleans brass band with the funk grooves of Washington, DC’s -based go-go music, adds in electric bass, guitar and a full drum kit, and throws in a set list that can range from Louis Armstrong to J... Read more

Bonerama is a New Orleans-based brass funk-rock band that puts the horn section up front. The band took shape in 1998, when trombonists Craig Klein and Mark Mullins, both members of Harry Connick Jr.’s big band, were looking to feature their trombones on original tunes and ... Read more