DANNY BARKER TRIBUTE BAND

Each year on January 13th, Snug Harbor and the New Orleans Jazz Museum pay tribute to one of New Orleans’ most influential musicians, Danny Barker, on his birthday. Barker is dear to Snug, as his band Danny’s Jazz Hounds played at Snug Harbor for years leading up to his passing on March 13, 1994. 

Detroit Brooks – banjo, bandleader 

Don Vappie – banjo, guitar 

Dr. Michael White – clarinet 

Greg Stafford – trumpet 

Freddie Lonzo – trombone 

Steve Pistorius – piano 

Mitchell Player – bass 

Herman LeBeaux – drums 

ABOUT DANNY BARKER: 

Daniel Moses Barker (1909 – 1994) was an American jazz musician, vocalist, and author from New Orleans. He was a rhythm guitarist for Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter during the 1930s. One of Barker’s earliest teachers in New Orleans was fellow banjoist Emanuel Sayles, with whom he recorded. 

Danny Barker came up in New Orleans at a time when jazz was just getting started. Over the course of a more than 70-year career, he played with Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Wynton Marsalis and Dr. John. In his later years, Barker started a youth band in New Orleans that would help bring the brass band tradition into the 21st century.

He came from one of the great musical clans of New Orleans, the Barbarin family. His grandfather Isidore Barbarin played in a brass band with some of the early greats of jazz: King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and his uncle Paul Barbarin made his way in the blues scene in Chicago, which is where a young Danny learned to play guitar, after already establishing himself as a banjo player. As a songwriter, “Save The Bones For Henry Jones” is probably his best known song, as it was recorded and made popular by Nat King Cole. 

Barker was also one of the earliest jazz and blues musicians to pen and publish his own memoir, “A Life In Jazz,” though it took him until 1986 to get it published, and it was then out of print for many years. Thankfully, the Historic New Orleans Collection re-issued the book in 2016. 

But perhaps his greatest legacy is the inspiration and mentorship he provided the next generations of New Orleans musicians, who would join his Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band in the 1970s and 1980s, his community contribution after time spent in New York. Players like the Marsalis brothers, Dr. Michael White, Gregory Davis, Shannon Powell, and Nicholas Payton all came up in Barker’s FBC Brass Band. 

Tonight, we host our annual Danny Barker Tribute concert during the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s annual Danny Barker Festival, featuring musicians who were direct students of Barker himself. 

Detroit Brooks – banjo, bandleader 

Don Vappie – banjo, guitar 

Dr. Michael White – clarinet 

Greg Stafford – trumpet 

Freddie Lonzo – trombone 

Steve Pistorius – piano 

Mitchell Player – bass 

Herman LeBeaux – drums 

Shows at 8pm & 10pm. 

Doors at 7:00pm & 9:30pm. 

Restaurant is Open 6pm – 10pm for dinner before or after your showtime. 

Advance Ticket-Holders can also make table reservations for dinner by Emailing info@snugjazz.com or calling the club at 504-949-0696 between 1pm – 8pm, Weds-Sun, after your tickets have been purchased online. All dinner table reservations must be attached to advance concert tickets. Dinner Service without Advance Concert Tickets is first-come, first-served based on availability upon arrival. Full Bar is Open 6pm – Midnight for all on show nights, with or without tickets. 

Kind Reminder:  Snug Harbor does not serve food inside the Music Room. Only cocktails and soft drinks are available for table service inside the Music Room, in order to preserve the integrity, quiet and focus of our world class intimate concerts. However, we encourage you to arrive 90 Minutes prior to your showtime in order to enjoy full, relaxing dinner service in the Dining Room right next door, before getting seated in the Music Room for the show. 8pm ticket holders can also enjoy dinner, dessert or appetizers after the show, with Dining Room seating only guaranteed by submitting your table request before 8pm. 

All performances are currently sold at half the normal audience capacity, creating an even more intimate listening experience. Covid mandates are honored with masks suggested for all, and seating more distanced than our usual. Please be prepared to present a valid proof of Covid vaccination or negative PCR test dated within the past 3 days, with matching Photo ID for entry. No ticket refunds are issued if due to lack of Covid prevention preparation. 

With the limited seating capacity, advance tickets are strongly suggested!