Bandleader, trombonist, and vocalist Colin Myers started Jumbo Shrimp as a Royal Street busking group in the hot, slow summer of 2009. There were just four band members at first — trombone, banjo, bass, and drums — and they quickly developed a chemistry built on a playful, exuberant approach to the music. Club gigs followed, first with a residency at Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub on Bourbon Street and then at The Spotted Cat Music Club on Frenchmen Street.
The band’s own bio calls their style “progressive traditional jazz,” a term as fitting as their contradictory namesake: fresh, high-energy, accessible, danceable, and just plain fun. Every arrangement was developed organically at live shows, and the current lineup — together for years now — has turned that exuberant chemistry into something of its own. They root themselves in New Orleans jazz but at a moment’s notice can fly off into early New Orleans R&B, surf rock, funk, gypsy swing, punk, pop, Caribbean music, TV theme songs, or commercial jingles.
Their album Louder Than Last Time (c. 2015) drew an OffBeat review praising the group’s infectious energy and “the seamless way their brass and reeds meld together.” The review singled out the celebratory opener “South Rampart Street Parade,” the cheeky vocals of guest singer Meschiya Lake on the closer “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think,” nimble solos from gypsy jazz guitarist Russell Welch, and the versatile drumming of Paul Thibodeaux.
