Having paid their dues on the street and proven themselves in the clubs, Shotgun Jazz Band now enjoys three weekly residencies: The Spotted Cat, Three Muses, and Maison Frenchmen. Their album Yearning was voted #8 by Offbeat Magazine in the “Top 50 Louisiana Album Releases of 2014” and the same year was also nominated for the Best of the Beat’s “Best Traditional Jazz Album.” In early 2017 they released their hotly-anticipated follow-up, Steppin' On The Gas, which is garnering similar accolades. Internationally-renowned journalist Steve Steinberg summed it up best:

“Gutsy, gritty and grabbing... straight-ahead New Orleans jazz of the first order—no tricks or gimmicks here.”

Instead of meticulously recreating the approach of a specific band or era, Shotgun has simply kept true to a few guiding principles: bluesy, no-nonsense melodies, old New Orleans-style ensemble playing, a stomping rhythm section, and the abiding belief that New Orleans Jazz is essentially party music and as such, playing and listening to it should be fun. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have one of New Orleans’ strongest vocalists, Marla Dixon, leading the charge. With these basic tenets in mind, the band has developed a style that’s immediate in its influences, yet uniquely their own.

“I don’t like jazz, but I love this band.”

That’s a common refrain at Shotgun Jazz Band gigs, and evidence that the band’s enthusiasm and love of the music is contagious to both their audiences and to many veteran musicians. New Orleans Jazz icons Orange Kellin, Tommy Sancton, and Barry Martyn (some of the men that helped make many of the records that originally inspired - and continue to inspire - the band) have all enjoyed performing with Shotgun, and have praised the band as one of the Crescent City's best examples of old-style New Orleans Jazz.

Awards, Festivals, Events, & Appearances

#8 in Offbeat Magazine’s “TOP 50 Louisiana Album Releases of 2014” for Yearning
Best of the Beat “Best Traditional Jazz Album” Nominee, 2014 for Yearning
Best of the Beat “Best Traditional Jazz Artist” Nominee, 2014
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2014
Des Moines Jazz Festival, 2017
French Quarter Festival, 2016, 2017
New Orleans Creole Tomato Festival, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Satchmo Summerfest, 2014, 2016, 2017
Abita Springs Opry, 2014, 2015, 2016
Abita Springs Busker Festival, 2015, 2016
Dew Drop Dance & Social Hall, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
BIX Fest, Racine, 2014, 2015
Lacombe Crab Festival, 2015
New Orleans’ Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Omaha Jitterbug’s Cowtown Jamborama, 2012 & 2013