In June of 2016, Shaye Cohn assembled an all-female cast of traditional jazz musicians to perform for Girls Rock New Orleans. Requests to play started pouring in, and the band agreed they’d love to continue working together. Although Shaye wouldn’t be able to continue with the band as a full-time member, Haruka Kikuchi joined up, bringing along her Kid Ory-inspired trombone. Marla Dixon, Chloe Feoranzo, Haruka Kikuchi, Molly Reeves, Julie Schexnayder, and Defne ‘Dizzy’ Incirlioglu have been playing together since that first performance.

On the strength of their first performances, and because of the stellar reputations of the individual musicians, Shake‘Em Up Jazz Band was immediately booked as a special guest at the Abita Springs Opry, the Nevermore Jazz Ball and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. The band has also enjoyed a steady stream of bookings at various New Orleans clubs, including Preservation Hall, Spotted Cat Music Club, Maison Frenchmen, Fritzel’s, Three Muses, and The New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park (U.S. National Park Service) at the Old U.S. Mint. Shake ‘Em Up made their debut at both French Quarter Fest and at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this spring and will do a small tour in Europe this July.

In June 2017, Shake‘Em Up headed into Bunny Friend Studio (the brainchild of Shake‘Em Up’s own Molly Reeves) recorded a 10-track session under the title ‘Le Donne Mangiano Zucchero’. Shake‘Em Up is excited to have their second released called ‘A Woman’s Place’, all songs featuring women composers from the 1910s-1930s.

August 31, 8pm | Tickets