Piano Night 2012 Artists

Mark Brooks is one of New Orleans most talented, versatile, and sought after bassists. He is also a protégée of the great Jazz Master, Alvin Batiste.

Mark attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he pursued a music degree along with one of his close friends, Branford Marsalis, who later as well as Mark moved on to further his professional career.

Widely hailed as a pianist and vocalist both as a solo artist and with a variety of groups-considered by many to be the premier exponent of the great New Orleans jazz and blues piano tradition-Henry Butler is equally respected for his versatile work as a composer and arranger in a broad range of genres, and as a speaker and educator in high demand on conference programs and college campuses aro

From jump blues to soul blues and all the R&B in between, Carol Fran has been singing it for nearly fifty years. Her career started when she was still in her teens with the Don Conway Orchestra and continues to this day. In 1995, Carol was a nominee at the 16th Annual W.C. Handy Awards as the Female Artist of the Year and as the female vocalist of the year.

Idle Monday nights led to a full-time gig for John "Papa" Gros. In 2000, the keyboardist worked steadily as a member of George Porter Jr.'s band, co-leader of the rock band MuleBone and as a solo act on Bourbon Street.

Joe Krown is a resident and is based out of the city of New Orleans. He is a New Orleans styled piano and Hammond B-3 player. He has been nominated twice and won a New Orleans Big Easy Award in the Blues category in April 2001. His blues trio, Sansone, Krown & Fohl won a 2004 Big Easy Award.

At five Joshua Paxton received a little yellow toy piano that he banged on for years, playing along with TV jingles and music on the radio by ear.  At 11 his parents gave into his pleas for piano lessons and bought him his first piano.  Though classically trained, by the end of high school he saw his future in jazz.