TUBA SKINNY

The Story

A far-flung group of buskers hailing from places like Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Virginia and New York coalesced in the Crescent City just prior to Hurricane Katrina and by 2009 had converted their shared love of hot jazz into a working band dubbed Tuba Skinny. Led by cornetist and orchestrator Shaye Cohn (granddaughter of jazz saxophone great Al Cohn) and featuring the earthy vocals of dynamic blues shouter Erika Lewis, along with clarinetist Craig Flory, trombonist Barnabus Jones, banjoist Max Bien-Kahn, guitarist Greg Sherman, washboard player Robin Rapuzzi and tubaist Todd Burdick, the downhome septet spreads joy whether playing on the street, at a jazz club or in a prestigious European concert hall.

With 14 albums under their belt, the latest being 2024’s Live at d.b.a, Tuba Skinny has charmed audiences as far away as music festivals in Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and France and as close to home as Royal Street in the French Quarter and the various clubs that line Frenchman Street in the Faubourg Marigny. 

The Sound

Mining a rich stream of traditional jazz and blues from the ‘20s and ‘30s, the members of Tuba Skinny may shift seamlessly in a given set from Jelly Roll Morton’s “New Orleans Bump,” Taheel Slim’s “Too Much Competition” and Blind Boy Fuller’s “The Untrue Blues” to Bessie Smith’s “You Gotta Gimme Some,” Memphis Minnie’s “Kissing in the Dark,” Ma Rainey’s “You Can Have My Husband” and Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson’s “How Do They Do It That Way.”. And they deliver each one with an air of authenticity and ebullience that will have audience members tapping their feet and getting up out of their seats.