Wendell Brunious (born October 27, 1954,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

. Born on October 27, 1954, Brunious was born into a

Louisiana Creole Louisiana Creole is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Also known as Kouri-Vini, it is spoken today by people who may racially identify as white, black, mixed, and Native ...

family, the son of Nazimova "Chinee" Santiago and John "Picket" Brunious, Sr., a trumpeter who studied at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

and played with the

Onward Brass Band The Onward Brass Band was either of two brass bands active in New Orleans for extended periods of time. Onward Brass Band (c. 1886–1930) This incarnation of the Onward Brass Band played often in its early history at picnics, festivals, parades, ...

Young Tuxedo Brass Band The Young Tuxedo Brass Band is a brass band from New Orleans that was active after World War II. The Young Tuxedo Brass Band was founded in 1938 by John Casimir. Its name is a nod to the Tuxedo Brass Band of Papa Celestin, an ensemble in New O ...

, and

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father Isidore, three of his brothers (including Louis), and ...

, and who arranged for

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

and

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

. Brunious' brother

John Brunious John Brunious Jr. (October 12, 1940 – February 12, 2008) was a jazz trumpeter and a bandleader for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans. Biography The family lived in the Seventh Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. His father, John Bru ...

, Jr., was another notable New Orleans jazz trumpeter and a predecessor as bandleader of

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a ...

. His nephew is Mark Braud, a successor as bandleader of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Brunious sang in Chief John and the Mahogany Hall Stompers in the 1960s, a group in which his father was also a member. He began on trumpet at age 11 and played at Paul Barbarin's

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. He studied at

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

(where he played with

Danny Barker Daniel Moses Barker (January 13, 1909 – March 13, 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 earli ...

) and played dance music in clubs on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

in the middle of the 1970s. Public Domain Project Jazz at the Mint New Orleans May 2018

In 1976, Brunious substituted for his father in Albert "Papa" French's band for

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

, and by 1979 was playing regularly at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

with

Kid Thomas Valentine Kid Thomas (1896–1987), born Thomas Valentine, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Kid Thomas was born in Reserve, Louisiana and came to New Orleans in his youth. In the early 1920s, he gained a reputation as a hot trumpet man. Star ...

. He was named leader of the group upon Valentine's death in 1987. He also played with the Eureka Brass Band (1980),

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

(1981),

Linda Hopkins Linda Hopkins (born Melinda Helen Matthews; December 14, 1924 – April 10, 2017) was an American actress and blues and gospel singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes. ...

(1984), and

Sammy Rimington Samuel Rimington (born 29 April 1942, in Paddock Wood, Kent, England), is an English jazz reed player. He has been an active Dixieland, New Orleans jazz revivalist since the late 1950s. Rimington played with Barry Martyn in 1959. He became a pr ...

(1984). He played with Louis Nelson in 1986-89, and did recordings with the Caledonia Jazz Band of Norway in 1986 and 1987. His first record as a leader came in 1986, which featured Nelson, Rimington, and Barry Martyn as sidemen. He later played with Michael White,

Chris Barber Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and Trombone, trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur ...

, Papa Don Vappie,

Bob Wilber Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

, and the Pfister Siblings. He has remained a regular performer at Preservation Hall into the 2020s.

Discography

* ''In the Tradition'' ( GHB, 1986) * ''Down in Honky Tonk Town'' (Wendell Brunious - Great Ideas Hb, 1996, September 9 at Audiophile Studio, New Orleans) * ''Wendell Brunious'' (Wendell Brunious - Great Ideas Hb, 1998, August 28 in New Orleans) * ''Mama Don't Allow It'' (GHB, 2003)

References

*Gary W. Kennedy, "Wendell Brunious". '' Grove Jazz'' online. 1954 births Living people American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz bandleaders Jazz musicians from New Orleans 21st-century American trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members Southland Records artists {{US-jazz-trumpeter-stub