Biography

Doreen Ketchens (b. 1966), otherwise known as “Queen Clarinet” and “the female Louis Armstrong,” is truly a keeper of the New Orleans flame. Her ensemble, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, has recorded 28 CDs and 3 DVDs, performed for four U.S. presidents, and has toured far and wide, from Russia to Brazil. In 2006, she performed as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s South African Cultural Exchange Program with the Field Band Foundation, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Thankfully, she also performs close to home. On any given day, you can go to the corner of Royal and St. Peter’s streets in the French Quarter and hear one of the greatest clarinetists alive.