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Mardi Gras Comes Early with Jazz Concert by N’Awlins Gumbo Kings

Gumbo Kings

Mardi Gras comes early this year as a six-piece jazz group will bring the UT Dallas campus the sounds of the Big Easy. 

The N’Awlins Gumbo Kings will perform a variety of styles of New Orleans music at 8 p.m. Friday in the Alexander Clark Center. The bill includes “Joe Avery Blues,” “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” “Royal Garden Blues,” “When The Saints Go Marching In” and original compositions from the Gumbo Kings.

Members of the jazz group have played with the likes of Ray Charles, Woody Herman and Wynton Marsalis, among others.

Steve Howard, who plays trumpet in the ensemble, played with Paul McCartney and in the Wings Over America tour. He performed and recorded with McCartney from 1975 to 1980.

Chris Seiter started playing trombone at the age of 12. He attended the University of North Texas (UNT) and was a four-year member of the famed One O’Clock Lab Band. While at UNT, he became an active freelance and studio trombonist performing with notable artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett.

Drummer Bobby Breaux, who is originally from New Orleans, has been playing and teaching in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 1983. He has also performed on several commercial recording sessions for accounts such as Popeye’s Chicken, Great America Theme Parks and BBC’s Radio One.

Ticket Information

General admission tickets for the concert are $15 and $10 for faculty, staff and non-UT Dallas students. Tickets are free to UT Dallas students with valid identification. Advance tickets may be purchased online or by calling 972-883-2552. Tickets bought in advance may be picked up at the door prior to the show.

By the time Carl Hilman graduated high school, he had played clarinet, tenor sax, oboe, French horn and electric bass. After touring Europe and Asia for a year, he eventually earned a performance degree on double bass from UNT. He has played with a wide range of performers – from Dr. Donald Byrd to Robert Goulet.

Saxophonist Michael Sizer’s professional career has taken him to a number of musical venues around the country, including a stint on the riverboat Mississippi Queen. There, he spent six years touring with the Dukes of Dixieland and playing numerous engagements at such famous French Quarter hot spots as the Maison Bourbon and Court of Two Sisters.

Pianist Brian Piper has written, produced and performed music for Miller Brewing, Ford, John Deere, Wyndham Hotels, American Airlines and others. He has recorded with musicians and artists of all musical styles – from Texas legends Jerry Jeff Walker and Lloyd Maines to jazz greats like Cab Calloway.

Media Contact: The Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].

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