Butch Thompson's New Orleans Jazz Originals Band



New Orleans Jazz Originals Band

The New Orleans Jazz Originals Band

Butch Thompson leads this eight-piece band of top players in an exciting New Orleans repertoire ranging from 1920s classics by Jelly Roll Morton to blues and spirituals in the manner of Preservation Hall. Butch's New Orleans credentials go back to his pilgrimage there in the early '60s. Over the years he met and played with veterans like Percy and Willie Humphrey, clarinetist George Lewis, and pianist "Sweet Emma" Barrett. This direct contact, along with his lifelong study of the recorded works of Morton, King Oliver and the other New Orleans pioneers, gives Butch a unique perspective on the music.

Trumpeter Duke Heitger is the band's youngest member, much in demand and currently living in New Orleans. Clarinetist Orange Kellin, who emigrated to New Orleans from Sweden in the mid-'60s, is an original stylist who now lives and works in New York. Drummer Jeff Hamilton was a student of the late Josiah 'Cie" Frazier, and banjoist Jimmy Mazzy of Boston is a poll-winning "musician's musician," a consummate instrumentalist and superb blues and scat singer.
One critic wrote, "...Thompson and his group compare without apology to the masters, and in some ways remain as close as any of us will ever get to hearing Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers or King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band."
"This was an outstanding performance! Our audience had a terrific time. Everyone was very enthusiastic afterwards. Mr. Thompson and his band were professional and courteous. We love them, they can come back any time."
- Ritz Theatre, Brunswick, Georgia


Butch ThomHeartland Arts Fund logopson is eligible for arts funding support through the Heartland Arts Fund

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