The New Orleans Catahoulas

The Catahoulas are a New Orleans Rhythm and Blues band that specializes in playing the lost sounds of the city’s golden age of R&B- the 1950s and 60s. Each of the band’s all-star members have hefty resumes and impressive musical pedigrees. Almost all are native New Orleanians. In short: they were born and bred to play this music.

For as long as he can remember, bandleader Joshua Gouzy has been dreaming of starting a band that plays the kind of music he grew up with in his family. They’ve been working musicians in the Crescent City for four generations. Joshua’s maternal great-grandfather Dee Florane was a trumpet player, and his great uncle Alcide Florane ran a family jazz band in the 1910s in the Holy Cross neighborhood of the Lower 9th Ward. His great aunt Leah Florane was the organist for the silent movies at the Saenger Theatre. His grandfather Lloyd Florane is also a multi-instrumentalist who alternated between the bass, sax, trumpet, and trombone in several bands, including The Blue Stars, and Collay and the Satellites in the 1950s-60s. The Satellites had a Billboard hit with “Last Chance”, which was recorded in Cosimo Matassa’s legendary Rampart Street studio in 1959.

It is precisely this style of music- 1950s-60s New Orleans Rhythm and Blues- that is the inspiration for The Catahoulas. As a bassist, Joshua felt a particular draw to the style. “I love this music because the rhythm section really is the heart of it. You drive the band from behind and if the dancers ain’t moving, you’re not doin’ it right.”

Joshua has assembled a line-up that seems tailor-made for the style, each with their own particular tie to its roots. Legendary drummer Gerald French of The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band is his partner in rhythm. Gerald grew up in second-lines and church bands before moving onto jazz clubs. He is dyed-in-the-wool New Orleans rhythm. The horn section features Preservation Hall All-Stars player Kevin Louis on trumpet and Earl Bonie and Oliver Bonie of The New Orleans Jazz Vipers on tenor sax and baritone sax. All three have been making music in New Orleans their entire lives and have traveled the world as ambassadors of New Orleans music. Pianist Steve DeTroy comes to the band by way of Walter “Wolfman” Washington’s Roadmasters. Steve grew up with music in church and is known for injecting songs with blues and soul. Guitarist Bert Cotton has been performing with New Orleans brass rock band Bonerama for over 18 years.

Together the Catahoulas play classics and forgotten gems of the era by Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Alvin “Shine” Robinson, Snooks Eaglin, Jesse Hill, Lee Dorsey, Huey Smith, Smiley Louis, Chris Kenner, Ernie K-Doe, Robert Parker, Lloyd Price, and Papa Albert French,. “I think that this is the most accessible music there is,” says Gouzy, “Anyone can enjoy it. You don’t have to be a swing dancer or a tango dancer or anything to know how to move to it. You just kinda do it, you just groove, because that’s what it’s all about. It’s all about groovin’ and having a good time, just relaxing and enjoying life.”

The Catahoulas have been playing shows in New Orleans at classic venues such as The Maple Leaf, the Spotted Cat Music Club, D.B.A. on Frenchmen Street, The US Mint, and at French Quarter Fest. Their newest album “Homegrown” was mixed and mastered with collaboration between Gouzy and legendary Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Bruce Barielle. Their mission is to bring back the nearly forgotten music of that musical era, and expose these sounds and rhythms to new ears, to inspire a new generation who embraces its rhythm and soul.