Naughty Professor

Formed: New Orleans, January 2011 — an iconoclastic jazz-funk sextet

Naughty Professor is an iconoclastic New Orleans-based jazz-funk sextet whose adventurous recordings and horn-charged, high-energy live performances have earned them an enthusiastic fan base, critical acclaim, and widespread attention from their musical peers. Their 2017 album Identity paired the band with more than a dozen cutting-edge collaborators — Chali 2na, David Shaw of the Revivalists, Ivan Neville, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Mike Dillon, Sasha Masakowski, and members of the Soul Rebels — and climbed to No. 6 on the iTunes Jazz chart. A new studio album, Voices, is on the way.

Never heard Naughty Professor before?

🎺 The Band

Two saxes · trumpet · guitar · bass · drums

⭐ Guest-Packed Album

Identity (2017): Chali 2na, David Shaw, Ivan Neville

🏅 Relix Magazine

“On the Verge” artist

Capturing a sound that's both accessible and interesting, unexpected yet familiar.

— GLIDE Magazine, on Identity

Why We Love Naughty Professor

Naughty Professor threads the needle New Orleans funk demands: serious chops, zero pretension. Their instrumental albums are tight, inventive, and fun; their live show is a full-body workout; and Identity proved they can fold a dozen guest voices into their horn-driven sound without losing their identity at all. They honor the city's jazz, R&B, and brass-band traditions while looking straight ahead — and every New Orleans stage from Tipitina's to Jazz Fest is better when they're on it.

Biography

Future Funk, New Orleans Roots

Naughty Professor formed in New Orleans in early 2011 — drummer Sam Shahin, trumpeter John Culbreth, saxophonists Ian Bowman and Nick Ellman, guitarist Bill Daniel, and bassist Noah Young — mashing funk, jazz, and hip-hop influences with psychedelic swirls. Their diligent roadwork quickly established them as a beloved live act, sharing stages with the likes of Galactic, Snarky Puppy, the Revivalists, Tank & the Bangas, Big Freedia, Maceo Parker, Dumpstaphunk, the Soul Rebels, and George Porter Jr.

Their early releases — Until the Next Time, Out on a Limb (2015, Ropeadope Records), and the live In the Flesh (2016) — showcased the group's knack for self-contained instrumental experimentation. Then came Identity (2017), mixed by Grammy-winning producer Qmillion of Robert Glasper's Black Radio fame, which found the band teaming with a dozen-plus collaborators: Jurassic 5's Chali 2na on “Darker Daze” and “Sugar Coat” (with Ivan Neville), David Shaw on the single “Stray,” Eric “Benny” Bloom of Lettuce, percussionist Mike Dillon, Sasha Masakowski, and members of the Soul Rebels. The album shot to No. 6 on the iTunes Jazz chart.

They're not just guests. The collaborators on this album were chosen because we respected what they do and felt that they could be a complement to our ensemble.

— Sam Shahin, drummer

The band has kept touring and collaborating ever since, releasing a string of singles and a live set from the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. “Scrollin',” featuring Tank and the Bangas' Tarriona “Tank” Ball, is the first taste of their upcoming studio album Voices — with Tank herself calling it one of her favorite collaborations. Naughty Professor remains exactly what Relix pegged them as years ago: an “On the Verge” band, still hungry, still pushing.