Joe Krown is an American

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, based in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Apart from being a solo artist, he is the full time member of

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenny Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist. Life and career Shepherd wa ...

band. He plays New Orleans styled piano and also Hammond B3 organ. Krown has played regularly at the

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

since 2001 and at the

French Quarter Festival French Quarter Festival is a free, annual music festival held in early April, located in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1983 with the first festival held in 1984, the festival features primarily New Orleans m ...

since 1998.

Biography

Early years

Krown was raised in Westbury,

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. He started playing piano in his childhood. While attending the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

, he discovered the Hammond organ, and soon left the University to pursue career as a professional musician. In the 1980s, Krown relocated to Boston, formed his own band with his then wife and played around New York and New England. During this time he joined Chuck Berry's back up band featuring Nashville producer

Tom Hambridge Thomas Jay Hambridge (born December 20, 1960) is an American rock, country, and blues, producer, songwriter, musician and vocalist. Hambridge has received two Grammy Awards, an ASCAP award, seven Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music Awards, a ...

on drums and toured with him on the East Coast. They also backed up 1950s doo-wop acts such as the Platters, Marvellettes and the Drifters. Krown joined ex-

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

guitarist Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson's band in the late 1980s. He toured nationally and internationally and recorded two albums with Johnson during his tenure with his band.

With Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

In 1991, Krown moved to New Orleans to join

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

's band, Gate's Express. From then on he held the keyboard chair of the band until Gatemouth's death in 2005. Krown recorded four albums with him, and toured across U.S. and overseas. In 1995, Gatemouth was chosen as an opening act for

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

's world tour, and Krown toured with him as a member of the band.

Solo career

In 1998 he debuted as a solo artist. He released ''Just the Piano...Just the Blues'' on STR Digital Records. It was a piano solo album in traditional blues and boogie woogie style. The Joe Krown Organ Combo was formed in 1999. The Joe Krown Organ Combo performed every week at one of the many New Orleans nightclubs, including the Maple Leaf Bar, House of Blues, Tipitina's, Le Bon Temps Roule and dba. The "Combo" makes regular appearances at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The band made its European debut in November 2001 at the Ingolstadt Jazztage in Ingolstadt Germany. The Joe Krown Organ Combo has four CD releases. ''Down & Dirty'' (1999), ''Buckle Up'' (2000) and ''Funk Yard'' (2002) were all released on the New Orleans label STR Digital. The Joe Krown Organ Combo’s latest release, ''Livin' Large'' was released in February 2005 and is Krown's first self-produced, independently released CD (JK1001). Apart from the Organ Combo, Krown started to play with guitarist John Fohl and harmonica/accordion player

Johnny Sansone John "Johnny" Sansone (born September 27, 1957), also known as Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, is an American electric blues singer, songwriter, harmonicist, accordionist, guitarist and piano player. He was nominated for seven music awards in 2012, incl ...

in 2000. They played traditional blues with Krown on piano, and Fohl and Sansone sharing the vocal duties. This trio ''Sansone, Krown & Fohl'' released a self-titled album from Sansone's label ShortStack Records in 2004. Krown has two solo piano CDs on the New Orleans label STR Digital. ''Just the Piano...Just the Blues'' (1998) and ''New Orleans Piano Rolls'' (2003). Both are solo piano performance featuring original New Orleans piano/boogie-woogie style compositions and classic New Orleans piano songs. His current solo piano CD, ''Exposed'' (JK1005) is the follow-up to the STR Digital CDs. He has been a headline performer at WWOZ's Piano Night during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival every year since 1997. Krown plays regular solo piano performances in New Orleans at Ralph's on the Park, Le Bon Temps and the Jazz Playhouse in the Sonesta Hotel on Bourbbon St. In October 2005, after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

and the failures of the federal levee systems destroyed Krown's home city of New Orleans, he returned home and started playing around New Orleans with his piano trio, the Joe Krown Trio. In March 2007, Krown released his eighth album, ''Old Friends'' (JK1002) featuring the trio. In the spring of 2007, Krown started playing every Sunday night at the Maple Leaf Bar (New Orleans, LA) with

Walter "Wolfman" Washington Walter "Wolfman" Washington (December 20, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. While his roots were in blues music, he blended in the essence of funk and R&B to cre ...

(guitar & vocals) and Russell Batiste, Jr. (drums). It features Krown playing Hammond B-3 organ where he plays all the bass parts on the organ. The trio released a live CD, ''Live at the Maple Leaf'' in Oct. 2008. It was produced by Krown and was his first live CD. In the fall of 2010, the Trio released ''Triple Threat'', the follow up to ''Live at the Maple Leaf Bar'' and their first studio CD. The trio released its third album, ''Soul Understanding'' for Jazz Fest 2013. The Trio was invited to be part of 15 city U.S. tour called "New Orleans Nights" (November 2010). The band was a feature along with Nicholas Payton and Allen Toussaint. In the fall of 2017, Wayne Maureau replaced Russell Batiste, Jr. in the Trio. After the death of

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

in November 2015, Krown was selected to play piano with Toussaint's band for a Toussaint Tribute set at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It featured stars including

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

and

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

. At the 29th annual WWOZ Piano Night at the New Orleans House of Blues in 2017, Krown appeared as a performer and also played the role of producer selecting other piano players for the event. From then on, he was named the permanent producer of the event. Krown made his acting debut in the HBO series '' Treme''. He did a scene in Season 1, episode 4; "At the Foot of Canal Street" (air date 5/2/10) and Season 3, episode 5; "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say" (air date 10/21/12). He also has music from some of his CDs featured on the show. "Moore Women Shuffle" (from ''Piano Rolls'') was featured in "Meet De Boys on the Battlefront" (air date 4/18/10) and "All That and Then Some" (from ''Exposed'') was in "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say" (air date 10/21/12). Krown can also be seen in several episodes of the TNT series ''

Memphis Beat ''Memphis Beat'' is an American crime comedy-drama television series created by Joshua Harto and Liz W. Garcia that aired on TNT from June 22, 2010 to August 16, 2011, with a total of 20 episodes spanning two seasons. It was produced by Smok ...

'' and the De Niro/Stallone movie ''

Grudge Match ''Grudge Match'' is a 2013 American sports comedy film directed by Peter Segal. The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro as aging boxers stepping into the ring for one last bout. Stallone and De Niro have both previously been in suc ...

'' (2013).

With Kenny Wayne Shepherd

In June 2017 Krown joined the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band as the full time keyboard player.

Awards

Krown has been nominated twice and won a 2000 New Orleans Big Easy Award in the Blues category. His trio with

& John Fohl has also won a 2004 New Orleans Big Easy Award in the Blues category. His Hammond organ trio featuring Louisiana guitarist Walter “Wolfman” Washington won a 2009 New Orleans Big Easy Award in the Blues Category and a 2009 OffBeat Award for Best R&B/Funk Album for ''Live at the Maple Bar'' album. In April 2014, he was honored with a Piano Legacy Award, presented by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and for being a "Master of Piano".

Discography

Albums as leader

* 1997: ''Just The Piano...Just The Blues'' (STR Digital 9703) ''solo piano'' * 1999: ''Down & Dirty'' (STR Digital 9902) ''Organ Combo'' * 2000: ''Buckle Up'' (STR Digital 1002) ''Organ Combo'' * 2002: ''Funk Yard'' (STR Digital 1007) ''Organ Combo'' * 2003: ''New Orleans Piano Rolls'' (STR Digital 1012) ''solo piano'' * 2004: ''Sansone, Krown & Fohl'' (ShortStack 7905) * 2005: ''Livin' Large'' (Joe Krown JK1001) ''Organ Combo'' * 2007: ''Old Friends'' (Joe Krown JK1002) ''Piano Trio'' * 2008: ''Live at the Maple Leaf'' (Joe Krown JK1003) ''with

& Russell Batiste Jr.'' * 2010: ''Triple Threat'' (Joe Krown JK1004) ''with Walter "Wolfman" Washington & Russell Batiste Jr.'' * 2012: ''Exposed'' (Joe Krown JK1005) ''solo piano'' * 2013: ''Soul Understanding'' (Joe Krown JK1006) ''with Walter "Wolfman" Washington & Russell Batiste Jr.'' * 2021: ''City Country City'' (Gulf Coast) ''with

Jason Ricci Jason Ricci (born February 3, 1974) is an American harmonica player and singer. In addition to his solo albums, Ricci has appeared as a guest harmonica player on albums with Johnny Winter, Terence Blanchard, Nick Curran, Ana Popovic, Walter Tr ...

'' * 2023: ''Tribute'' (Sledgehammer Blues 2-AQM-1069)

With Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson

*1990: ''I Want to Groove with You'' (Bullseye Blues) *1992: ''It's Good to Me'' (Bullseye Blues)

With Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

* 1994: ''The Man'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

/Gitanes) * 1997: ''Gate Swings'' (Verve/Gitanes) * 1999: ''American Music, Texas Style'' (

Blue Thumb Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obse ...

/Verve) * 2001: ''Back to Bogalusa'' (Blue Thumb/Verve) * 2003: ''Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown in Concert'' (in-akustik --- DVD) * 2006: ''

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

Presents Blues at Montreux 2004'' (RED Distribution --- DVD)

With Kenny Wayne Shepherd

* 2017: ''The Traveler'' (Concord) * 2020: ''Straight To You: Live'' (ADA/Provogue)

Other works

* 1998:

Bobby Charles Robert Charles Guidry (February 21, 1938 – January 14, 2010), known as Bobby Charles, was an American singer-songwriter. Early life An ethnic Cajun, Charles was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, United States, and grew up listening to Cajun mus ...

: ''Secret of the Heart'' ( Stony Plain) * 2000:

Kid Ramos Kid Ramos (born January 13, 1959) is an American electric blues and blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Ramos has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and Evidence Records. He has worked with James Harman, Roomful of B ...

: ''West Coast House Party'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

) * 2003: Mathilda Jones: ''There's Something Inside Me and It's Called the Blues'' (Southland) * 2003: various: ''Patchwork - A Tribute to James Booker'' (STR Digital) * 2004: Amanda Shaw: ''I'm Not A Bubble Gum Pop Princess'' (Little Fiddle) * 2004:

: ''Last Train to Memphis'' (Rice 'n' Gravy) * 2005: Juice: ''Hey Buddy'' (DJR) * 2008: Bobby Charles: ''Homemade Songs'' (Rice 'n' Gravy)Credits on respective CDs * 2011:

Zigaboo Modeliste Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste (born December 28, 1948), also known as Zigaboo, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. ...

: ''New Life'' (JZM)

References

External links

Official website

Allmusic.com biography
*

Le Show ''Le Show'' is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist Harry Shearer. The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and sketch comedy. Shearer, an impressionist known for his voice work on ''The Simpsons'', w ...

interview & performance: {{DEFAULTSORT:Krown, Joe Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American blues pianists American male pianists American organists American male organists Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Blues musicians from New Orleans People from Westbury, New York 21st-century American pianists 21st-century organists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists 20th-century American male musicians