At The Mardi Gras Ball CD

If you want to be a real New Orleans insider, then you must know that Mardi Gras music is synonymous with JMO. For over 30 years, JMO has played the Mardi Gras balls of the biggest and best krewes on the New Orleans society scene. From Rex and Comus to Orpheus and Endymion, these classic New Orleans krewes have known that there's only one band they can trust for the best, most authentic Mardi Gras music.  Check out our CD below to really hear what it's like At The Mardi Gras Ball!

About the CD

Music makes Mardi Gras special, and Jimmy Maxwell makes some very special Mardi Gras music.

Following in the footsteps of New Orleans orchestra legends A. J. Peron,  John DeDroit, George White, and Rene Louapre,  Jimmy Maxwell and His Orchestra have been performing the melodic standards of Carnival for over thirty years.

Their schedule includes more than just Mardi Gras. Performing a continually expanding repertoire that ranges from Broadway Hits, Big Band Swing, Traditional New Orleans Jazz, and Rock Classics of the Fifties and Sixties, to Pop Tunes on the charts today,  Jimmy Maxwell and His Orchestra appear at more than 150 engagements each year. Traveling across the country and around the world, they entertain for charity soirees, debutante balls, political celebrations, corporate events, and private parties. 

No matter how far his travels may take him, you can count on the man cited by The Times-Picayune as "Responsible for the traditional sounds of Mardi Gras" to appear at two dozen Carnival parties and balls in New Orleans, including the prestigious Meeting of the Courts of Rex and Comus.

This project is dedicated to the musical heritage of Carnival in New Orleans. In the city where jazz was born, it's the music that motivates Mardi Gras. Try to imagine a parade without the marching bands or a Carnival ball without the orchestra. Although the format of this album is not a recreation of one particular ball, all who listen will recognize music from their favorite memories. 

These recordings represent a special time in the history of Mardi Gras. As many traditions give way to the politics of the present, the music must pass to future generations of Carnival revelers. The spirit of those grand traditions of the past is represented here in the music of the golden era of Mardi Gras. 

Featuring Eddie Maxwell and Jimmy Maxwell, produced by Leonard Nicholson and directed by Jim Howell, this album features the fanfares, marches, and debutante music that continues today under Robert Maxwell. It is our tribute to the Mardi Gras balls of the 1960s -1980s, the Golden Era of Mardi Gras balls held mostly at the Municipal Auditorium. 

The first half of every Mardi Gras ball, often paired with the traditional presentation and debutante music, is filled with classic tunes such as If Ever I Cease To Love, Grand March from Aida, Fanfare Elizabeth Susan #1, and Coronation March.  The second half of the evening often turns into callout dances of classic swing music such as In the Mood, Cabaret, and The Second Line.

You can find Jimmy and the band on the bandwagon behind the King's float in the Rex parade on Mardi Gras Day. This honor, of accompanying the King of Mardi Gras on his annual journey through the streets, is one that has tied JMO deeply to the soul of New Orleans. Today's Mardi Gras blends the honoring of tradition and the contemporary spirit of the age, and no one knows that better than JMO.