Joe Krown – Bio

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. Krown has been highlighted in a feature article in the September 2000 and April 2005 OffBEAT Magazine. Joe’s third compact disc, Buckle Up, was picked #4 CD, “Best of 2000CDs” in the Times Picayune, and “Best CDs of 2000” in OffBeat magazine. Joe was also selected “Best Keyboardist, Editor’s Choice” at CitySearch.com for New Orleans. Joe’s fourth CD, Funkyard was picked #4 CD in Gambit Magazine and #15 in the Times Picayune “Best CD’s of 2002” and “Critic’s Choice Best of 2002″ in Offbeat Magazine. Joe’s band, the Joe Krown Organ Combo was the front page feature “Fest Focus” article for the Times Picayune 2003 Jazz Festival Focus series. Joe’s CD, Livin’ Large (2005) clocked in at #11 in overall sales for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2005. His trio with Walter Wolfman Washington & Russell Batiste Jr. won a 2009 Offbeat Award for “Best R&B/Funk CD” (Live at the Maple Leaf) and a 2009 Big Easy Award in the “Best Rhythm & Blues Band” category.

Joe held the keyboard chair with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown & Gate’s Express from 1992 until Gatemouth’s passing in the fall of 2005. Joe is featured on the chart topping albums The Man, Gate Swings, American Music, Texas Style and most recently Back to Bogalusa albums. In 1995, Gatemouth and the Gate’s Express including Joe on keyboards, did a 62 date world tour as the opening act for Eric Clapton. The band, Gate’s Express won an Offbeat 2004 Best Band in the Blues Category. Joe is also featured in Gatemouth’s band on Carlos Santana’s Carlos Santana Presents Blues At Montreux 2004 (2006) DVD

From September 1996 to June 2001, he held the Traditional Piano Night slot at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans, which was once occupied by Professor Longhair and James Booker. Joe followed that strong tradition with his debut solo release Just the Piano…Just the Blues (1998) and the follow-up CD, New Orleans Piano Rolls (2003). Joe has been a headline performer at WWOZ’s Piano Night during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival every year since 1997. As of Labor Day 2001, Joe and the Traditional Piano Night moved to Le Bon Temps Roule in New Orleans. In November 2003, Joe made his German debut as a solo piano performer. He’s been the house piano player at the famous Brennan family restaurant, Ralph’s on the Park since January 2006. Joe performs solo piano shows several days a week around New Orleans in places like Le Bon Temps Roule, Irvin Mayfield’s Playhouse and Dos Jefes Cigar Bar.

Joe Krown formed the Joe Krown Organ Combo (New Orleans, LA) in 1999. The Joe Krown Organ Combo made its European debut in November 2001 at the Ingolstadt Jazztage in Ingolstadt Germany and made regular appearances at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Ottawa Blues Fest from 2000 until 2005. The Joe Krown Organ Combo appeared at such noted nightclubs as the Boom Boom Room in San Fransisco, CA and Tobacco Road in NYC. The band 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, dba, and the Funky Butt. The Joe Krown Organ Combo released 4 CD releases. Down & Dirty (1999), Buckle Up (2000) and Funkyard (2002) were all released on the New Orleans label STRdigital. The Joe Krown Organ Combo’s last release was Livin’ Large (February 2005). It was also Joe’s first independent release as producer.

In June 2000, Joe started playing around New Orleans with Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone (harmonica, vocals) and John Fohl (acoustic guitar and vocals) in an acoustic delta blues trio featuring Joe on piano. Sansone, Krown & Fohl made their New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival debut in May 2001 and has also performed at “Rivers Festival” in Columbia South Carolina. In April 2004 Sansone, Krown & Fohl released thier first self-titled CD on the Shortstack Records label. Sansone Krown & Fohl won a 2004 Big Easy Award in the blues category.

In March 2003, Joe took his band up to the world famous Rock & Bowl for the Wednesday night swing dance night. Following in the tradition of Gatemouth Brown’s swing music, Joe’s swing band has become the feature band for one of New Orleans’ most popular swing dances. Gatemouth was a regular special guest with Joe’s swing band at the Rock Bowl’s Wednesday Night Swing Dance.

In the fall of 2007, Joe was invited to be a feature artist in the Solid Blues Tour. The tour was a 38 U.S. city tour in October and November 2007 and it featured Mavis Staples, Charlie Musselwhite, the North Mississippi All-Stars and Joe. Joe performed a 20 minute solo piano set featuring music from his latest CD Old Friends, and then he joined the North Mississippi All-Stars backing up Mavis Staples and Charlie Musselwhite.

In the spring of 2007, Joe started playing every Sunday night with Walter Wolfman Washington (guitar & vocals) and Russell Batiste Jr. (drums). It features Joe playing Hammond B-3 organ where Joe plays all the bass parts on the organ. The Sunday nights were so successful that the trio released a live CD, Live at the Maple Leaf (Oct. 2008). Live at the Maple was produced by Joe and will be the first live CD in Joe’s catalogue. Live at the Maple won a 2009 Offbeat Award for “Best R&B/Funk CD”. The trio also won a 2009 Big Easy Award in the “Best Rhythm & Blues Band” category. In the fall of 2010, the Trio released Triple Threat (Nov. 2010), the follow up to Live at the Maple Leaf and their first studio CD. The Trio was the feature band for a 3 week tour called “New Orleans Nights” (Nov. 2010). The band had a set then they backed up Grammy Award winning artists Nicholas Payton and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint for a 15 city Northeast Tour.

Joe was featured in an episode of the HBO drama Treme. Treme is an HBO drama about life in New Orleans in the months following the destruction of New Orleans from the failure of federal levee system during Hurrinca Katrina. Joe plays himself in a scene in episode 4, season 1 (2010) and one of Joe’s songs is used in episode 2, season 1 for background music. Joe can also be seen in several episodes of the TNT series Memphis Beat and the upcoming Deniro/Stallone movie Grudge Match (2013).

After the untimely passing of the legendary great Allen Toussaint in November 2015, Joe was selected to fill the maestro’s chair by playing piano with Toussaint’s band backing up greats like Bonnie Rait, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, Dr. John and more at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz Fest, Hollwood Bowl, Midsummer swing at Carnegie Hall and more.

Joe has performed with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Johnny Adams, Marcia Ball, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, C.J. Chenier and Marva Wright. Joe has held the keyboard chair for Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown since 1992. As the keyboard player in Gatemouth’s band and as an artist, Joe has shared the stage with superstars like Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Kim Wilson, Ike Turner, Jimmy McGriff, Melvin Sparks, George Porter Jr., Buddy Guy, Niles Rodgers, Shemekia Copeland, Paul Shaffer (David Letterman Show), Lenny Picket (Tower of Power, SNL band), Sonny Landreth, Dr. John, Albert Collins, Joe Sample, Irma Thomas, Kenny Neal, Frankie Ford, and many others. During the 2005 New Orleans Jazz Fest , the Joe Krown Organ Combo hosted an all-star New Orleans Organ Summitt for the city of New Orleans’ Mo Fest. Joe and his band were the house band for a 2-hour show that featured Dr. John, Art and Ivan Neville, Robert Walter (Grey Boy All-Stars), Rich Vogel (Galactic) and John Gros (Papa Grows Funk).

Joe has recorded with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, Jumpin Johnny Sansone, Zigaboo Modileste, New Orleans Juice, Kid Ramos (guitarist from the Fabulous Thunderbirds), Bobby Charles, Raful Neal, Marva Wright and many other New Orleans artists. Krown has eight CDs out under his own name, two CDs with Walter “Wolfman” Washington & Russell Batiste Jr. (plus one on it’s way) and one CD as member of Sansone, Krown & Fohl. As a member of Gatemouth Brown’s band, Krown is on Carlos Santana’s Carlos Santana Presents Blues At Montreux 2004 (2006) DVD.