Tom McDermott

Thursday, September 29th; 8PM

Thursday, October 6th; 9PM
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Thursday, November 3rd; 9PM
Thursday, November 10th; 8PM
Thursday, November 17th; 8PM

Thursday, December 1st; 9PM
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Thursday, December 22nd; 8PM
Thursday, December 29th; 8PM

New Orleans is a city with a rich musical heritage, and Tom McDermott is a pianist who has mastered many of its styles.

Born in St. Louis in 1957, McDermott began piano lessons at age six. After eight years of lessons, he got caught up in the Scott Joplin revival and began playing and composing rags and early jazz pieces. This eventually led, in 1981, to an album of original ragtime music on the Stomp Off label, New Rags.

McDermott received a scholarship to St. Louis University and graduated in December 1978 with a B.A. in Art. Shortly after that he began his career as a free-lance journalist, writing mainly about music for a number of St. Louis newspapers. He was the jazz and rock critic for the morning paper, the Globe-Democrat, from 1980 through 1983. In 1982 he earned his master of music degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1984, McDermott moved to New Orleans, lured there by a job at the World's Fair as well as a passionate interest in the music of Crescent City pianists like James Booker, Professor Longhair and Dr. John. He quickly found steady work, first as a solo pianist and later with jazz bands. From 1990 through 1995 he played with the Dukes of Dixieland, a period which many observers feel was the group's peak since the death in the '70s of the founding Assunto brothers. During this time the band recorded three albums (including one with jazz legend Danny Barker), toured Germany and South America, and played Carnegie Hall.

Discography

As Leader

• 2009 New Orleans Duets
• 2008 Almost Native (with Evan Christopher)
• 2008 Creole Nocturne
• 2007 Cooperation Garden Time: Stories and Songs for Kids
• 2007 Live in Paris
• 2005 Choro do Norte
• 2002 Danza (with Evan Christopher)
• 2001 The Crave
• 1999 Louisanthology
• 1996 All the Keys and Then Some

As Sideman

• 2011 Peer Pressure - Noel & The Red Wedge
• 2010 Simply Grand - Irma Thomas
• 2010 Live at the Old Point - New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• 2010 The Long Hard Road - Paddy Kerr & Tom McElvogue
• 2006 Take the Bull By the Horns - Tom Doherty
• 2005 Touch Wood - Tom Walsh
• 2003 Dark of the Moon - Grey Larsen & Paddy League
• 2003 The Isle of Orleans - Tim Laughlin
• 2001 Kevin Clark: New Orleans Jazz Brunch
• 2000 New Orleans Trumpet - Kevin Clark
• 1997 Funknicity - New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• 1996 New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• 1979 On Deck and Below: The Irish at Sea - Tom Sullivan

Compilations

• 2011 Vieux Carré (The French Quarter) - Sounds of New Orleans
• 2010 Treme, Season 1 (Music from the HBO Original Series)
• 2003 Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker

Links

Official Web Site
STR Digital Site
iTunes Artist Link
Wikipedia
Facebook
MySpace
All About Jazz Article