Jon Cristian Duque — born in Chuquicamata, Chile and raised on the Jersey Shore — moved to New Orleans on New Year's Day 2000 and learned the tradition at the side of the legendary Walter “Wolfman” Washington as a member of the Roadmasters. His own band, Soul Project NOLA, carries that lineage forward.
Duque is joined by fellow Roadmaster alumnus Wayne Moreau on drums — a New Orleans native with over 30 years on the scene and a professor at Loyola University — and by bassist and Grammy-winning vocalist Wanda Joseph, daughter of drummer Vernell “Joe Gunn” Joseph, who held the kit for Irma Thomas and Tommy Ridgely. Joseph earned a 2022 Grammy as a member of the Joyful/SONO Choir on Jon Batiste's “Freedom.”
The core trio is augmented by a rotating cast of top New Orleans players — Mike “Mikey B” Burkart on vocals, B3 and keys, saxophonists David Ludman and Eric Bernhart, and Jake Gold on keys — and the band has toured coast to coast and into Northern Europe while remaining a club and festival staple at home, with sets at Tipitina's, d.b.a. and the Maple Leaf Bar.
“These cats are cutting their own groove, shaking the walls and earning their place among the torchbearers of New Orleans funk.”
Marc Stone — WWOZ & OffBeat
