Kevin Louis is an accomplished trumpeter and leader of the Preservation All-Stars, an adjunct of the Preservation Hall family. He has toured around the world with heavy hitters like Jimmy Heath, Nicholas Payton, Mos Def, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and always brings a... 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

Katja Toivola is a Finnish-born trombonist and bass drummer who loves New Orleans music so much she wrote her thesis on the Rebirth Brass Band. After moving to New Orleans, she connected with the Preservation Hall and with trumpeter Leroy Jones; the two are now married and ... Read more

The Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band got their start busking on New Orleans street corners; today, they are an in-demand trad jazz dance band that is known for high-energy performances and for jumping across genres at any given moment. Leading the charge is the dynamic bandleader, si... 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 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

John Royen rules the stride piano, bringing the syncopated sounds to clubs and festivals around New Orleans and across the globe. The veteran pianist has performed with a Who’s Who of traditional jazz, from Pete Fountain and the Dukes of Dixieland to Duke Heitger and the Pr... 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

John Autin put his first band together at age 12 and hasn’t stopped since. Known as The New Orleans Piano Man, Autin embraces the best of the Crescent City’s musical genres, from trad jazz to contemporary tunes, sprinkled with originals, such as the jaunty homage to his hom... Read more