| Kermit Ruffins | |
|---|---|
Kermit Ruffins at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kermit Ruffins |
| Born | December 19, 1964 |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz R&B Dixieland |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Trumpet Vocals |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | Basin Street Records Putumayo Records Justice Records |
| Associated acts | Rebirth Brass Band Danny Barker Dr. Michael White Irvin Mayfield |
Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is a jazz trumpeter, singer and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He has been heavily influenced by Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Eddy Jefferson. Ruffins accompanies a large portion of his songs with his own vocals, and he says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C note. Most of his bands perform New Orleans jazz standards, though he also composes many of his own pieces. Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote of Ruffins in a July 16, 2001 article, stating that "Mr. Ruffins is an unabashed entertainer who plays trumpet with a bright, silvery tone, sings with off-the-cuff charm and never gets too abstruse in his material".[1]
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Kermit started playing trumpet in 8th grade at Lawless Junior High School in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. He attended Joseph S. Clark Senior High School in New Orleans' 6th Ward.[2] In high school, he played a little bit of classical music at the behest of a strict band teacher.[3] Ruffins developed an appreciation for cooking through his grandmother, observing her movements in the kitchen growing up.[4]
He co-founded the Rebirth Brass Band in 1983 while attending Clark High School, also in the Tremé neighborhood.[5] Ruffins made his first recordings with the Rebirth in 1984. The group was inspired by another New Orleans brass band called The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a band of slightly older musicians credited with bringing influences of funk and contemporary bebop into New Orleans style brass bands. Before they achieved the popularity allowing them to play regularly in local music venues, the Rebirth often busked around the French Quarter for tips. They soon became a houseband at the Glass House, previously the Dirty Dozen's home venue. The Rebirth once had a gig in New York City at Lone Star Cafe, but were hassled by police for having no permit when they began marching outdoors as they always did in New Orleans.[6]
Ruffins founded the Barbecue Swingers in 1992, a traditional jazz quintet. Kermit is famous for cooking barbecue at his shows. Every Thursday since the early 1990s, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers have played a weekly show at Vaughan's Bar in the Bywater neighborhood which is very popular with both locals and visitors. His 2007 Basin Street Records release, Live at Vaughan's was recorded during one of his performances at the establishment.
He has also performed at hundreds of funerals during his career in The Crescent City.[7] In 2003 the band received a nomination at the Big Easy Entertainment Awards, which recognizes local talents.He currently appears as himself in HBO's Treme as a recurring character.[8]
On April 14, 2007, he married his fiancée Karen "Juicee" James onstage during his performance at the New Orleans French Quarter Festival. This was the couples' second vow exchange of the day as they had earlier been married in a Catholic ceremony at St Peter Claver Church. A reception was held at The Parish at The House of Blues. The couple had their first daughter together a year earlier, aptly named Kaylin Orleans Ruffins. Ruffins also has children from a previous marriage.[9]
Ruffins has said he loves drinking Bud Light beer and smoking cannabis, stating that Amsterdam is his second favorite place to perform outside of New Orleans due to its many legal coffee shops that sell premium grade cannabis and hashish. He is also a good friend—and sometime local competitor of—Irvin Mayfield, a fellow New Orleans trumpeter.[10]
| Year | Album | Notes | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | World on a String | debut album | Justice Records |
| 1994 | The Big Butter and Egg Man | - | Justice Records |
| 1996 | Hold on Tight | - | Justice Records |
| 1998 | The Barbecue Swingers Live | - | Basin Street Records |
| 1999 | Swing This | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2001 | 1533 St. Philip Street | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2002 | Big Easy | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2005 | Throwback | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2007 | Live at Vaughan's | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2009 | Livin' a Treme Life | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2009 | Have a Crazy Cool Christmas | - | Basin Street Records |
| 2010 | Happy Talk | - | Basin Street Records |