SATURDAY NIGHTS JUST GOT JAZZIER AS NEW ORLEANS OWN KERMIT RUFFINS LAUNCHES SATURDAY NIGHT RESIDENCY AT LITTLE GEM SALOON
September 24, 2013 at 1:23pm
(New Orleans, LA): Little Gem Saloon, New Orleans historic restaurant and live music venue, announced today that famed jazz trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and The Barbeque Swingers will be launching a regular Saturday night residency, beginning on Saturday November 9th. Ruffins has been developing his “early show” sets at the Little Gem Saloon and is also scheduled to perform on Saturday October 5th and 19th. The Little Gem Saloon is located at 445 Poydras Street and South Rampart St. Show times are 7pm-10pm and Advance Tickets are $15 for general admission and are available atwww.littlegemsaloon.com or www.ticketfly.com or by calling 504 267-4863.
“We have been having a ball waking up the spirits of Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong at The Little Gem Saloon and we want to continue with a regular Saturday night gig,” states Ruffins. The Little Gem Saloon, which was founded in 1904, was a hangout and performance room for the early jazz musicians in what was then known as the “Back o’ Town” neighborhood of New Orleans. “By having Kermit Ruffins at Little Gem Saloon on Saturday nights, we hope to create a new tradition where music lovers can come out early, enjoy a nice dinner, dance, support jazz and just have fun.” states Nick Bazan, General Manager of Little Gem Saloon. “We are very happy to be part of the Little Gem Saloon family,” says Tom Thompson, Kermit’s manager of twenty years. “There is not a more beautiful setting in the city for Kermit’s music and personality.”
Ruffins, a renowned entertainer and trumpeter who was famous for his late-night shows, has changed his show times to coincide with a renewed commitment to a life/career balance and also to be able to manage his growing empire of restaurants and music venues, which includes Kermit’s Treme’s Speakeasy and Ernie K Doe’s Mother in Law’s Lounge. His latest release We Partyin’ Traditional Style on Basin Street Records includes Kermit Ruffins surrounded by some of the best traditional New Orleans Jazz musicians including Shannon Powell on drums, Steve Pistorius on piano, Richard Moten on bass, Lucien Barbarin on trombone, Tom Fischer on clarinet, Don Vappie on banjo and vocalist Mykia Jovan.
The Little Gem Saloon is also launching Davell Crawfords’ New Orleans Legends Series, an intimate night of music, conversations and more featuring Irma Thomas onFriday, October 11th, for two shows– 8:00PM and 10:00PM and Gem Sessions, an exploration into the national modern jazz scene with an upcoming show with Mike Clark on October 26th.at 10pm.
—reposted from www.Facebook.com/tom-thompson-rubyarts with permission
