Doreen Ketchens

Doreen Ketchens

Doreen Ketchens (born October 3, 1966 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a jazz clarinetist, who performs Dixieland and Trad Jazz. She is one of the first and few female bandleaders in New Orleans, and a musical educator. She has performed at concert halls and music festivals, at U.S. Embassies and decades of weekly performances in Dixieland's tradition in the Royal Street Performing Arts Zone in the French Quarter of New Orleans with her band, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. Ketchens has performed for four U.S. Presidents: Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, and is widely considered one of the cultural ambassadors of New Orleans and of the traditional musicNicknamed "Lady Louis" because of her ability to hit and hold powerful high notes, and her love of Armstrong's performance style, she has performed with Ellis Marsalis, Jon Faddis, Trombone Shorty, Al Hirt, Dorothy Donegan, The Black Crows and Jennifer Warnes, and opened for Macy Grey and Dr. John, and has been seen around the world by millions of people via media and fan videos of her performances (See Filmography & Videography, below). She has been featured in numerous documentaries about New Orleans, its music, and its heritage, and she has been seen on television in shows like HBO's Tremé.

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