Blodie's Jazz Jam is led by New Orleans-born trumpeter Gregory "Blodie" Davis, a musician with more than 40 years of experience in the industry who co-founded the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, one of the pioneering groups credited with modernizing New Orleans brass band tradition and blending it with bebop and funk influences. Beyond his own performing career, Davis has long served as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's Jazz Coordinator, a role that gives him unique insight into and access to the city's deepest well of jazz talent.
Davis also teaches at Loyola University and owns Blodie Entertainment, a New Orleans-based events and entertainment booking company, rounding out a career built as much on mentorship and curation as on performance. Blodie's Jazz Jam draws directly on those decades of relationships, assembling rotating all-star lineups for a recurring set at Jazz Fest that has produced live recordings from multiple festival years, a genuine testament to the event's consistency and popularity among festivalgoers seeking an unpredictable, top-tier jazz experience.
