Wendell Brunious

Wendell Brunious is an American trumpet player and bandleader associated with the jazz music of New Orleans. Wendell was born on October 27, 1954, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to John Brunious Sr. and Nazimova. His father, a nephew of Paul Barbarin, played trumpet with Barbarin's band and later helped revive the Onward Brass Band. Brunious' brother, John Brunious Jr., was another notable New Orleans jazz trumpeter and a predecessor as bandleader of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. His nephew is Mark Braud, a successor as bandleader of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Brunious sang in Chief John and the Mahogany Hall Stompers in the 1960s, a group in which his father was also a member. He began on trumpet at age 11 and played at Paul Barbarin's funeral. He studied at Southern University and played dance music in clubs on Bourbon Street in the middle of the 1970s. In 1976, Brunious substituted for his father in Albert "Papa" French's band for Mardi Gras, and by 1979 was playing regularly at Preservation Hall with Kid Thomas Valentine. He was named leader of the group upon Valentine's death in 1987. He also played with the Eureka Brass Band, Lionel Hampton, Linda Hopkins, and Sammy Rimington. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)