John Brunious Jr. (October 12, 1940 – February 12, 2008) was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter and a bandleader for the

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a p ...

in New Orleans.

Biography

The family lived in the Seventh Ward neighborhood of New Orleans. His father, John Brunious Sr., played piano and trumpet and transcribed songs such as "Bourbon Street Parade" for

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father, three of his brothers, and his nephew (Danny Barker) ...

. His brother,

Wendell Brunious Wendell Brunious (born October 27, 1954, New Orleans) is an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Born on October 27, 1954, Brunious was born into a Louisiana Creole people, Louisiana Creole family, the son of Nazimova "Chinee" Santiago and Joh ...

, also became a trumpeter. Brunious was influenced by

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and played in rhythm and blues bands. He attended St. Augustine High School and served in the military during the Vietnam War. After he returned to New Orleans, he performed in nightclubs with pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. and drummer James N. Black. He became a member and then leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band during the 1980s. In 2005,

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 ...

drove him from his home in Gentilly and buried his trumpets. While attempting to secure his boat, he was rescued. He moved with his family to Orlando, Florida. He died of a heart attack on February 12, 2008 in Orlando.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunious, John 1940 births 2008 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members Young Tuxedo Brass Band members