ReneComan

Rene Coman was born in New Orleans and became one of the city's most accomplished roots-music bassists, with recording credits that span Alex Chilton, Guitar Slim Jr., and Willy DeVille — a résumé that speaks to his versatility and his standing in the city's studio and live music community.

In 1989 he joined the Iguanas at their founding, providing the New Orleans DNA in a band that blended his hometown's R&B and jazz traditions with the tex-mex and conjunto sounds brought by his bandmates. The combination created something genuinely unique: a New Orleans band that sounded equally at home on Frenchmen Street and at a border-town dance hall.

Over more than three decades with the Iguanas, Coman has appeared on all of the band's studio albums and helped forge one of the most consistent and distinctive sounds in American roots music. His bass work is less flashy than foundational — the kind of playing that makes everyone around him sound better, that creates space for melody to breathe and rhythm to swing.

The Iguanas remain a weekly presence in New Orleans and a beloved fixture at the Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Coman's bass is at the center of everything they do.