The New Orleans Jazz Vipers are a seven-piece swing band from New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, U.S.A.  The band's repertoire comes from the likes of Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

, Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, and Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

 as well as lesser-known artists.

Amplification

Amplifier

Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...

 is rarely used and they are part of a growing number of bands on the Frenchmen Street

Frenchmen Street

Frenchmen Street is a street in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home to the city's most popular live music venues, including Snug Harbor and The Maison, in addition to restaurants, bars, and other businesses.-Location:...

 music scene who trust that the audience will eventually quiet down enough to enjoy the music.

History

Founding members Joe Braun (saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

), John Rodli (acoustic guitar

Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

) and Jack Fine (cornet)first met in 1995 on the music scene in Jackson Square

Jackson Square, New Orleans

Jackson Square, also known as Place d'Armes, is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.-Design:...

. Robert Snow (acoustic bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

) completed the rhythm section when the band was formed in 1999. Gradually the band evolved to its present formation. Charlie Fardella (trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

), joined in the summer of 2002. Tom Saunders (bass saxophone

Bass saxophone

The bass saxophone is the second largest member of the saxophone family. Its design is similar to that of the baritone saxophone, with a loop of tubing near the mouthpiece. It was the first type of saxophone presented to the public, when Adolphe Sax exhibited a bass saxophone in C at an exhibition...

), whose extensive knowledge of the traditional jazz repertoire has been honed by years as a DJ at WWOZ, joined the band soon after. The most recent additions to the band are Bruce Brackman (clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

) and Matt Rhody (violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

). Lead vocals are handled by Braun, Rodli, Saunders and Fardella. All the members of the band provide backing vocals.

In 2009, six members of the Vipers formed the New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings. The Cottonmouth Kings include John Rodli, Robert Snow, Bruce Brackman, Charlie Fardella, Matt Rhody, and Tom Saunders.
As of 2010,the current line up includes Joe Braun and Jack Fine plus Craig Klein (trombone), Jason King (Acoustic guitar) and Joshua Gouzy (bass}.

Achievements

• Their CD Live on Frenchmen Street won Offbeat Magazine
  OffBeat (magazine)
  OffBeat is a monthly music magazine in New Orleans, Louisiana first published in 1988. It mainly focuses on the music scene of New Orleans and Louisiana. It covers wide range of local music including R&B, blues, brass bands, jazz, cajun music, zydeco, to rock....
  
  's 2004 Best of the Beat Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album.
• They were named Best Traditional Jazz Band at the 2005 Big Easy Awards.
• In 2001 and 2003 they won the Best of the Beat Award for Best Emerging Traditional Jazz Band.
• The band was voted one of the top three jazz bands in the 2004 reader's poll in Where Y'at Magazine.
• The Band’s newest CD, “Hope You’re Comin’ Back”, has been featured on CBS Evening News, an episode of Emeril Live.
• In 2010, the New Orleans Jazz Vipers were featured in the HBO series "Treme", with Joe Braun playing himself as a featured character.
• Later that same year, the "Treme" soundtrack compilation, which includes the Vipers playing Joe Brauns' original composition "I Hope You're Comin' Back To New Orleans", was nominated for a Grammy
  Grammy Award
  A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
  
   award.

Albums

• The New Orleans Jazz Vipers (2002) recorded in New Orleans at Truck Farm Studio with Andrew Gilchrist as the engineer.
• Live on Frenchman Street (2004) recorded live at The Spotted Cat located on Frenchmen St. in New Orleans.
• Hope You're Comin' Back (2006) recorded in New Orleans. Includes the band's first self-penned number "Hope You're Comin' Back To New Orleans", a post-Katrina plea for people to come back to New Orleans to live or visit.