The Storyville Stompers Brass Band started in 1981 as a group of friends who shared a love of traditional New Orleans music. In the more than four decades since, the band has grown into one of the preeminent brass bands in the nation, having played throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia, racking up more than 6,000 performances along the way. The band continues to play New Orleans music in the traditional style, widely considered the foundation for traditional jazz and Dixieland.
Co-led by the much-loved sousaphonist Woody Penouilh and trombonist Craig Klein, the Storyville Stompers have performed regularly at weddings, parades, conventions, festivals, concerts, and receptions, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and French Quarter Festival. The band has also functioned as house band on Live with Regis and Kelly and appeared on the HBO series Treme. In recognition of their contributions, the Storyville Stompers were named Best Traditional Brass Band by the Big Easy Music Awards in both 2010 and 2011.
The band's most recent album, Count Your Blessings, follows earlier releases A Brass Menagerie and Feel So Good. Inspired by the Olympia Brass Band's 1977 album In A Gospel Mood, Count Your Blessings presents a set of time-honored hymns including "Old Time Religion" and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," featuring trumpeter Will Smith on vocals, clarinetist Bruce Brackman, guest vocals from Topsy Chapman's daughters Yolanda Robinson and Kiki Chapman, and organist Rickie Monie — an instrument choice that mirrors the Olympia Brass Band's own original recording. The Storyville Stompers remain a fixture of New Orleans' second line and traditional jazz scene, still performing regularly more than 40 years after their founding.
