Joe Krown
Encyclopedia
Joe Krown is an American
keyboardist
, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is known for his long tenure with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's band. As a solo artist, he has been playing in several different styles. When he plays the piano, he typically plays in the traditional New Orleans style. When he plays with his band the Joe Krown Organ Combo, the sound is jazzy and funky, and he plays the Hammond B-3 organ
.
, Long Island, New York. He started playing piano in his childhood. While attending the State University of New York at Buffalo
, he discovered the Hammond organ, and soon left the University to pursue career as a professional musician. He became part of a jazz-rock band called Bellevista featuring guitarist Peter Calo that had regional success.
In the 1980s, Krown relocated to Boston, formed his own band with his then wife and played around New York and New England. He also joined Chuck Berry's back up band and toured with him on the East Coast.
Krown joined ex-Muddy Waters
guitarist Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
's band in the late 1980s. He toured and recorded two albums with Johnson during his tenure with his band.
's world tour, and Krown toured with him as a member of the band.
In 1999, Krown formed the Joe Krown Organ Combo and the band released its debut album Down & Dirty that year. On the album, Krown showed wider range of sound playing the organ only throughout the album. Gatemouth was featured as a guest soloist on three tracks. He was also featured on four tracks on Krown's following album Buckle Up released in 2000.
The Organ Combo soon started to play regularly in New Orleans as well as some dates in Europe
, San Francisco
, and Ottawa
. The band released its second album Funk Yard in 2002.
Apart from the Organ Combo, Krown started to play with guitarist John Fohl and harmonica/accordion player Johnny Sansone 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's other projects include Joe Krown's Swing Band which he started in 2003, Joe Krown Trio a collaboration with his Organ Combo band mates Brint Anderson and Mike Barras which lead to the album Old Friends (2007), and another trio Krown, Washington, Batiste (teaming up with Walter "Wolfman" Washington
on guitar and vocals and Russell Batiste, Jr.
on drums) who started to play at Maple Leaf Bar
in 2007. Krown has also worked as a member of funk band Juice appearing on their live album Hey Buddy in 2005
.
In the fall of 2007, Joe was chosen as one of the featured acts in the 'Solid Blues' package tour with Mavis Staples
, Charlie Musselwhite
, and The North Mississippi All-Stars covering 38 cities in the U.S.
Krown's latest effort is Live at the Maple Leaf (2008), his first live album
with the Krown, Washington, Batiste trio.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist 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 instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is known for his long tenure with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's band. As a solo artist, he has been playing in several different styles. When he plays the piano, he typically plays in the traditional New Orleans style. When he plays with his band the Joe Krown Organ Combo, the sound is jazzy and funky, and he plays the Hammond B-3 organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
.
Early years
Krown was raised in WestburyWestbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
, Long Island, New York. He started playing piano in his childhood. While attending the State University of New York at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
, he discovered the Hammond organ, and soon left the University to pursue career as a professional musician. He became part of a jazz-rock band called Bellevista featuring guitarist Peter Calo that had regional success.
In the 1980s, Krown relocated to Boston, formed his own band with his then wife and played around New York and New England. He also joined Chuck Berry's back up band and toured with him on the East Coast.
Krown joined ex-Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
guitarist Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
Luther Johnson (Guitar Junior)
Luther Johnson is an American Chicago blues singer and guitarist, who performs under the name Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson....
's band in the late 1980s. He toured and recorded two albums with Johnson during his tenure with his band.
With Gatemouth Brown
In 1992, Krown moved to New Orleans to join Gatemouth'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 ClaptonEric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
'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 strictly traditional blues and boogie woogie style.In 1999, Krown formed the Joe Krown Organ Combo and the band released its debut album Down & Dirty that year. On the album, Krown showed wider range of sound playing the organ only throughout the album. Gatemouth was featured as a guest soloist on three tracks. He was also featured on four tracks on Krown's following album Buckle Up released in 2000.
The Organ Combo soon started to play regularly in New Orleans as well as some dates in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. The band released its second album Funk Yard in 2002.
Apart from the Organ Combo, Krown started to play with guitarist John Fohl and harmonica/accordion player Johnny Sansone 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's other projects include Joe Krown's Swing Band which he started in 2003, Joe Krown Trio a collaboration with his Organ Combo band mates Brint Anderson and Mike Barras which lead to the album Old Friends (2007), and another trio Krown, Washington, Batiste (teaming up with Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Walter "Wolfman" Washington is an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. While his roots are in blues music, he blends in the essence of funk and R&B to create his own unique sound....
on guitar and vocals and Russell Batiste, Jr.
Russell Batiste, Jr.
Russell Batiste, Jr. is a drummer based in New Orleans.- Biography :Brought up in a musical family, Batiste started playing drums at the age of four...
on drums) who started to play at Maple Leaf Bar
Maple Leaf Bar
The Maple Leaf Bar is a music performance venue in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is also a bar and hosts a variety of other events.The Maple Leaf is on Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans. Opened on Feb 24, 1974, it is one of the longest continuing operations of New...
in 2007. Krown has also worked as a member of funk band Juice appearing on their live album Hey Buddy in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
.
In the fall of 2007, Joe was chosen as one of the featured acts in the 'Solid Blues' package tour with Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
, Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
, and The North Mississippi All-Stars covering 38 cities in the U.S.
Krown's latest effort is Live at the Maple Leaf (2008), his first live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
with the Krown, Washington, Batiste trio.
Leader albums
- 1997: Just The Piano Just The Blues (STR Digital) solo piano
- 1999: Down & Dirty (STR Digital) Organ Combo
- 2000: Buckle Up (STR Digital)
- 2002: Funk Yard (STR Digital) Organ Combo
- 2003: New Orleans Piano Rolls (STR Digital) solo piano
- 2004: Sansone, Krown & Fohl (ShortStack)
- 2005: Livin' Large (Joe Krown) Organ Combo
- 2007: Old Friends (Independent) Joe Krown Trio
- 2008: Live at the Maple Leaf (Independent) with Wolfman Washington & Russell Batiste Jr.
Works with Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson
- 1990: I Want to Groove with You (Bullseye Blues)
- 1992: It's Good to Me (Bullseye Blues)
Works with Gatemouth Brown
- 1994: The Man (Verve/Gitanes)
- 1997: Gate Swings (Verve/Gitanes)
- 1999: American Music, Texas Style (Verve/Blues Thumb)
- 2001: Back to Bogalusa (Verve/Blues Thumb)
- 2003: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown" in Concert (in-akustik - DVD)
- 2006: Carlos Santana Presents Blues at Montreux 2004 (RED Distribution - DVD)
Other works
- 1998: Bobby Charles / Secret of the Heart (Stony Plain)
- 2000: Kid RamosKid RamosKid Ramos is an American electric blues and blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Thompson has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and Evidence Records...
/ West Coast House Party (Evidence Music) - 2003: Mathilda Jones / There's Something Inside Me and It's Called the Blues (Southland)
- 2004: Amanda Shaw / I'm Not A Bubble Gum Pop Princess (Little Fiddle Records)
- 2004: Bobby Charles / Last Train to Memphis (Rice 'n' Gravy)
- 2005: Juice / Hey Buddy (DJR)
- 2008: Bobby Charles / Homemade Songs (Rice 'n' Gravy)
External links
- Official website
- Le ShowLe ShowLe 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...
interview & performance: