Gerald French & The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band

Leader since 2011 — New Orleans, Louisiana

Drummer Gerald French is the fifth leader in the more-than-a-century-long history of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band — and the third generation of his own family to hold the chair, following his grandfather Albert “Papa” French and his uncle Bob French. Founded in 1910 by cornetist Oscar “Papa” Celestin and named for a Storyville dance hall, the Tuxedo is the city’s oldest continuously performing jazz group: a direct thread from the birth of jazz to the present day.

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🎵 The Legacy

Founded 1910, Oscar “Papa” Celestin

🥋 The Leader

Gerald French, Drums & Vocals

📍 The Regular Gig

Jazz Playhouse, Bourbon Street

The city’s oldest continuously performing jazz group, a direct thread between the birth of jazz and the present day. — WWOZ

Why We Love Gerald French & The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band

Some bands preserve history; the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band is history, still swinging. The continuity is almost absurd — founded in 1910, led for decades by the Celestin family’s successors, and now steered by Gerald French, grandson of Papa French, nephew of Bob French, son of musician George French. When Gerald sits at the drums on Bourbon Street and sings, you’re hearing the same repertoire that Louis Armstrong played in this band’s early days, delivered by a man who also spins blues on WWOZ as DJ Giant and masks as a Black Masking Indian. It is tradition without stuffiness: the Tuxedo has always been, first and last, a dance band.

Biography

A Century of Swing, One Family’s Chair

The precise genesis is, like many early jazz groups, a matter of some debate — but an early iteration of the band was formed in 1910 by legendary cornetist Oscar “Papa” Celestin, who named it for the Tuxedo Dance Hall in the Storyville district. Celestin led the group for 44 years. After his death in 1954, trombonist Eddie Pierson took the helm, followed in 1958 by banjo player Albert “Papa” French. When Papa French died in 1977, his son Bob French — the celebrated drummer and WWOZ programmer — became the band’s fourth leader, holding the chair until ill health forced his retirement in 2011. His nephew Gerald French then took over the drum chair and the leadership, a line of succession that makes Gerald the fifth leader in the band’s history and the third generation of the French family to lead it.

"Traditional New Orleans music at one time was strictly for dancing. The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band got its name from the Tuxedo Hall in Storyville and the band was primarily a dance band back in the early 1900s."

— Gerald French, The Louisiana Weekly

Gerald French is a musician’s musician beyond the Tuxedo chair: he has worked with a who’s who of New Orleans talent from Harry Connick Jr. to Dr. John, plays regularly with Charmaine Neville and the Dixie Cups, hosts the Thursday blues show on WWOZ as “DJ Giant,” and masks as a Black Masking Indian. His 2012 album A Tribute to Bob French — recorded live at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse on International Jazz Day, April 30, 2012 — is both a loving farewell to his uncle and a statement of intent from the band’s newest generation.