aboutus
Doreen Ketchens has been called Lady Louie, Miss Satchmo & The Female Louis Armstrong, to name a few. However, on May 26, 2022, Doreen, was honored with a Doctorate degree, in music from Five Towns College, in Long Island New York. Now she is Dr. Doreen J. Ketchens! Dr. Doreen has changed the way scholars view their clarinets. She has successfully created her own style that blends her classical training with the soul of jazz.
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Her intense passion gets under your skin and brings you to a new place. Be it, Gospel, Blues, R&B, Classical or Jazz. Dr. Doreen Ketchens can rock her clarinet on many levels, then sing like a songbird on a sunny day. Dr. Doreen has been called many names because, she plays like Charlie “Bird” Parker, sings like Mahalia Jackson, and has the chops and personality of Louis Armstrong. Dr. Doreen Ketchens, can be found in numerous radio and television shows, including Treme, on HBO, Drunk History, music videos and movies, including Out of Blue, Come On, Come On, Tyler Perry’s Temptation, and recently on Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS Sunday Morning.
Lawrence
Lawrence Ketchens II, was also honored with a Doctorate degree, in music from Five Towns College, in Long Island New York. He is now, Dr. Lawrence Ketchens! Lawrence Ketchens plays the Tuba, Valve Trombone, drums and Piano with Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans. He is an innovative Sousaphonist, who taught himself to play jazz by using his classical versatility to develop an original style of Tuba playing. Lawrence lays a great foundation that drives the band in a positive way, he then burst into virtuosic improvisation that puts many horn players to shame. Lawrence Ketchens is the first to play the Sousaphone and Drums SIMULTANEOUSLY! Lawrence also arranges and produces music for Doreen's Jazz and Master Classes. He has performed with Pete Fountain, Trombone Shorty, Al Hirt, Jon Faddis, Teddy Riley, Danny Barker and countless others.
Dorian
Dorian - 20yrs. old.
16 yrs of performance experience.
17 CD's.
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Miss Dorian Ketchens-Dixon is an exceptionally talented drummer. She premiered her talents at age four during the Sioux Falls, SD Jazz Festival. She now travels the world as the drummer for Doreen’s Jazz. Dorian has performed at festivals around the world, (including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival), to standing ovations! She was nicknamed, “The Ghost Drummer”, by fans in Martinique because they could not see her tiny body behind the drums. Today, at age 18, Dorian already has 14 years of performing experience. She has performed on (15) Doreen’s Jazz CD’s, on stages of many sizes, movies, television commercials and can even be spotted playing drums on (Don’t Hurt Yourself), in Beyonce’s “Lemonade” video.
Doreen's Jazz New Orleans has represented New Orleans and the United States around the world, performing in multiple countries, from Africa to Thailand. Doreen’s Jazz has also performed for four U.S. Presidents. Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. The band also boasts 30 volumes of CDs and 3 DVDs.
In addition to being superb performers, Doreen and Lawrence are outstanding educators. Doreen’s Jazz, regularly perform in schools and universities around the United States and the world. We teach students of many ages and languages about music, multiple genres, musical terms, performance styles and techniques, as well as, spreading the culture and music of New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina. We also tell of the Pandemic’s affects on the city’s performance culture.
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Here's a clip from Doreen's solo performance at the 2022 Texas Band Masters Association Convention:
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It is almost impossible to sit through a performance of Doreen's Jazz New Orleans without dancing, moving in your seat, shouting, clapping, or tapping your feet. This is the band that brought Jimmy and Roselyn Carter to their feet shouting, “Hey Now”; during an earlier Live Jazz Fest performance of “Iko, Iko”. Later, during the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a man jumped up from his wheelchair and led the Second Line around the Economy Hall Tent. “Now that’s music that moves”! Please consider our "spicy" New Orleans flavor of music for your next engagement. You'll be glad you did. Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon. During the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a man jumped up from his wheelchair and led the Second Line around the Economy Hall Tent. “Now that’s music that moves”! (We thought this should be repeated. Lol!) Please consider our "spicy" New Orleans flavor of music for your next engagement. You'll be glad you did. Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.