the new orleans gentlemen of jazz

INTRODUCING
THE NEW ORLEANS GENTLEMEN OF JAZZ
TopTone Music
91 rue du faubourg Saint Honoré
75008 Paris
Licences d'entrepreneur de spectacle: 2-1074911 et 107-4912
Siret 800 702 417 RCS PARIS
Contact pour l’Europe Xavier BARON Tel : 06 22 02 37 81
Email : [email protected] [email protected]
THE NEW ORLEANS GENTLEMEN OF JAZZ
The New Orleans Gentlemen of Jazz is a brand new project founded by bandleader Wendell
Brunious with the intention of reintroducing the music of Louis Armstrong to the contemporary
world.
Brunious is a widely-regarded trumpeter and vocalist in the New Orleans tradition. He has
recruited the cream of the crop to be a part of this outstanding group of musicians. The A-list allstar band consists of: Wendell Brunious (trumpet and cornet); Delfeayo Marsalis (trombone);
Roderick Paulin (saxophone); Tom Sancton (clarinet, saxophone); Steve Pistorius (piano);
Shannon Powell (drums); Richard Moten (upright bass); and Kid Merv Campbell (vocals).
The New Orleans Gentlemen of Jazz will present a unique experience of the music and life of
history's most famous son of New Orleans Louis "Pops" Armstrong.
Armstrong was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and singer who was one of the pivotal
and most influential figures in jazz music. His career spanned from the 1920s to the 1960s,
covering many different eras of jazz.
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was
a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to
solo performance. With his instantly recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an
influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody
of a song for expressive purposes.
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpetplaying, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in
the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general.
The New Orleans Gentlemen of Jazz is available for touring and private events throughout the
world. A tour of Europe is in the works and the long-term ambition is for the project to perform
with symphony orchestras internationally.
In New Orleans we have so much to thank Louis Armstrong for. He's the father of us all. He revolutionized not only
jazz but influenced rock and roll music and rhythm and blues, brass band music, he did it all. For example the
introduction of "West End Blues" changed music and life forever. It made everybody believe that they could play
solos, something new for that time in music history. There is so much in those few seconds of music that it changed
music forever."
-Wendell Brunious
"As musicians, we have to keep Pop’s legacy going. We can’t ever stop talking about him. Pop’s journey was
incredible. He came from the streets of New Orleans, playing from his gut. Eventually he went on to transform a
whole music genre, giving much music for the world to enjoy. We owe him so much for what he did for the music.
He is our native son, our treasure."
-Shannon Powell
"Louis Armstrong was such a great ambassador of America that it is an honor to pay tribute to him through music.
His phenomenal trumpet playing and vocalizing represented true joy, happiness and love for humanity. He set the
gold standard of excellence that we all strive to achieve. His spirit resonates in every note we play as jazz
musicians."
-Delfeayo Marsalis
WENDELL BRUNIOUS
New Orleans music, in its purest form, flows easily and effortlessly. It swings with a spirited
strut, infused with an unabashed sense of fun.
The music of New Orleans jazz trumpeter and vocalist Wendell Brunious is all that and more.
The standard-bearer for a family of musicians with deep roots in the Seventh Ward’s close-knit
Creole community, Brunious ranks among the city’s most astute and elegant jazzmen, a trumpet
titan in a trumpet town.
His repertoire of more than 1,500 songs, built across a 40-year career, ranges from Louis
Armstrong and Clifford Brown to the Beatles and Burt Bacharach. Early Dixieland, the Great
American Songbook, gospel hymns, second-line standards, pop melodies, New Orleans rhythm
& blues, intimate ballads -- all are brought to life via his horn and a warm, expressive voice.
His chops are formidable – he’s equally adept at trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn -- but his goal is
always the same. “I’m there to please the audience,” he says. “I’m not there to show off. And I’m
always paying homage to the guys who came before me.”
Brunious fronted the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for 23 years and still performs at its namesake
French Quarter venue most Sundays.
His personal lineage includes his father, John “Picket” Brunious Sr., a trumpeter who studied at
Julliard and arranged music for Cab Calloway and Billy Eckstine. His uncle Willie Santiago was
a renowned early jazz guitarist. His older brother John was a trumpeter who, like Wendell, led
the venerable Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
He painstakingly transcribed music and lyrics for dozens of traditional jazz songs. He marched
with the Olympia Brass Band, whose leader, Harold “Duke” Dejean, was his father’s first cousin.
He spent years alongside Albert “Papa” French and former Ink Spots singer Lloyd Washington
in the 100-year-old Original Tuxedo Jazz Band.
Brunious is an in-demand featured guest for other artists’ recordings. His gorgeous, golden-hued
flugelhorn solo on “That’s My Home” is a highlight of Dr. John’s 2014 Louis Armstrong tribute,
“Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch.”
His horn has taken him around the world, from navigating the intricate “Cornet Chop Suey”
during an Armstrong tribute at the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland to recreating clarinetist
George Lewis’ historic 1964 tour of Japan with an all-star band.
DELFEAYO MARSALIS
Delfeayo Marsalis was born in New Orleans on July 28, 1965, and was destined to a life in
music. He is a member of a famous musical family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton
and Jason) and as a family, was awarded the nation's highest jazz honor- a National Endowment
for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2011.
After briefly trying the bass and drums, Marsalis gravitated towards the trombone at an early
age, which he felt was an extension of his personality. He attended the New Orleans Center for
Creative Arts and considered his influences to include J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Al Grey and
Tommy Dorsey. Delfeayo went on to major in performance and audio production at the Berklee
College of Music.
From the age of 17 until the present, Marsalis has produced over 100 recordings for major artists
including Harry Connick, Jr, Marcus Roberts, Spike Lee, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Roberts,
Adam Makowicz, Nicholas Payton, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the projects of Ellis,
Branford and Wynton Marsalis.
In addition, Marsalis has toured internationally with Art Blakey, Abdullah Ibrahim, Slide
Hampton Max Roach and Elvin Jones. He also toured with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
and was filmed as a part of the Ken Burns documentary "Jazz".
RODERICK PAULIN
Roderick Paulin is an accomplished composer, arranger, producer, and educator. Roderick’s
collaborations with artists such as Branford Marsalis, Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint, Delfeayo
Marsalis, Maceo Parker, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has made him a highly sought after
artist of impeccable standards for the last 25 years. In the summer 2015, he received the
esteemed honor of serving as a faculty member of The LOUIS “Satchmo” ARMSTRONG JAZZ
CAMP led by Artist Director and Paulin’s former college professor Edward “Kidd” Jordan.
A New Orleans native, Paulin began playing the saxophone at the tender age of eight-years-old.
Shortly afterward, while only in the 6th grade, he began performing with his father, legendary
traditional jazz musician, Ernest “Doc” Paulin. Roderick and his five older brothers were the
core of his father’s band- The Doc Paulin Dixieland Jazz Band- performing brass band music
across the globe. Roderick readily acknowledges his father teaching the importance of
preparation, musicianship, timeliness, flexibility and fortitude to be successful in the
entertainment industry.
Paulin epitomizes music and musicianship: performing traditional jazz music as if the listener is
hearing it for the first time, while being able to weave seamlessly between contemporary, bebop,
avant-garde, and R&B genres.
Paulin’s musical dossier includes being a featured artist at the Essence Music Festival, being
commissioned to arrange the music of Piano legend Ray Charles featuring pianist Davell
Crawford, and a featured artist to perform the musical stylings of Alvin “Red” Tyler
accompanied by The Contemporary Arts Orchestra. He has appeared on television episodes of
HBO’s Tremé, Studio 60 featuring D.L. Hughley Christmas Special and The Craig Kilborn
Show.
TOM SANCTON
Tom Sancton is an internationally-known jazz clarinetist and a former student of the late, great
George Lewis—an apprenticeship he lovingly chronicled in Song for My Fathers.
Featured on more than a dozen CD’s, Tom Sancton (a.k.a. Tommy) has toured widely in Europe
and the U.S., and has played at major international jazz festivals, including numerous
appearances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He also appeared alongside Woody
Allen in the 1998 film Wild Man Blues.
A graduate of Harvard and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Sancton has played regularly at such
legendary jazz venues as Preservation Hall, the Palm Court Jazz Cafe, and Snug Harbor. A stage
version of Song For My Fathers, featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, was presented at
Tulane University’s Dixon Hall in 2010, the Chat Noir theater in 2011, and the Tennessee
Williams Literary Festival in 2012.
In January 2012, Sancton was featured at a gala 50th anniversary Preservation Hall Jazz Band
concert at Carnegie Hall. In 2013, the French government named him a Knight (Chevalier) in
the Order of Arts and Letters.
STEVE PISTORIUS
Steve Pistorius has the distinction of being the only living New Orleanian who specializes in
early Jazz piano. Whether playing solo or leading a band, he creates joyful and swinging
renditions of oft-neglected rags, waltzes, marches, pop tunes, blues and stomps.
Love of the music turned into a lifetime profession in 1973. Steve answered an ad for a five
nights a week gig, winning the spot by default as no one else showed up for the audition.
Mentored and influenced since then by musicians like Neil Unterseher, Armand Hug, Jeanette
Kimball, Morton Gunnar Larsen, Butch Thompson, Burt Bales, Don Ewell, Max Morath and
Eubie Blake, Steve has developed his own style.
Career highlights include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Apollo Theatre, One Mo' Time
and Pope's Square in Belo Horizontes, Brazil.
Steve has toured the South Pacific, the Far East, Europe, Scandinavia, South America and the
Middle East. He has toured with his own band and with notable bandleaders such as Wendell
Brunious, Duke Heitger, Michael White, Banu Gibson, Mark Braud and Leon Redbone.
SHANNON POWELL
Shannon Powell is a highly sought after drummer and percussionist who has achieved
international acclaim for his commanding technique and style. He has performed all over the
world with notables in jazz.
In his early career, Powell toured extensively with Harry Connick, Jr. and released two platinum
albums with Connick including, "We Are in Love," and "Blue Light Red Light.” He also
recorded "Lofty's Roach Soufflé" with Connick. During subsequent years, Powell has toured
with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Marcus Roberts, Diana Krall, Dr.
John, Earl King, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and John Scofield. Powell has also recorded
with a long list of noteworthy artists, including Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Nicholas Payton,
Donald Harrison, Irvin Mayfield, Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Currently, Powell is a bandleader and has recorded his own CD, "Powell's Place," which
showcases a mix of traditional and original jazz songs and also features Powell on vocals. Powell
is considered a leading force on the traditional jazz circuit
RICHARD MOTEN
Richard L. Moten has been a professional musician since the age of fifteen. Richard started on
piano at age seven, and by his early teens began playing the electric bass. His first jobs were with
the William Houston Youth Orchestra playing dance, R&B, and top forty music of the 60’s and
70’s, eventually playing with that band for twenty years. During that time he worked with many
bands including Chocolate Milk.
In 1989, Richard transitioned into jazz standards and straight ahead jazz with the guidance of
pianist Carl Franklin, requiring him to switch to upright bass. Over the years, Richard has come
to perform and record with some of the most recognized musicians of the New Orleans jazz
scene. He travels regularly to Europe and Japan for feature tours.
Richard continues to live and perform in New Orleans, appearing regularly in such prestigious
venues as Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, the Palm Court Jazz Café and - last but not least Irving Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
KID MERV CAMPBELL
Mervin "Kid Merv" Campbell learned to sing from his mother, Millie Campbell, a gospel
singer at Fairview Baptist Church. When Merv was in fifth grade his mother saved money from
her job as cook and bought Merv a trumpet. Around the same time, Merv saw the Olympia Brass
Band in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die" at the birthday party for Miss Ruby, wife of
New Orleans trumpet legend (and Olympia co-leader) Milton Batiste. At that moment, Merv
knew that he wanted to be a jazz musician.
Campbell joined jazz legend Danny Barker as part of the Fairview Baptist Band. In 1983 he was
a part of Barker's Roots of Jazz and performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and
the World's Fair. Campbell was a member of the St. Augustine High School Marching One
Hundred under Edwin Hampton.
In 1997, Merv began work on a solo CD at Milton Batiste’s Dubat Studios. Batiste named Merv
“Kid Merv” in honor of Kid Rena. The name stuck and the resulting CD—Kid Merv & All That
Jazz—won two 1997 Offbeat Awards, for Best Traditional and Best Vocal.
Campbell's band, Kid Merv & All That Jazz, is a five-piece playing a range of jazz, from Louis
Armstrong to Miles Davis. Kid Merv also is a member of the Tremé Brass Band, where he plays
lead trumpet and shares vocals. Campbell has traveled around the United States and Europe with
Tremé Brass Band and the Olympia Brass Band including performances at the Umbria Jazz
Festival in Perugia, Italy, the Louis Armstrong Festival in Salzburg, Austria and the Pori Jazz
Festival in Pori, Finland.