Ryan Burrage

Biography

Ryan Burrage is a New Orleans–based traditional jazz clarinetist and bandleader who has become a familiar presence on the city’s live music circuit, particularly in venues dedicated to classic Crescent City styles.[1][6] Listed in Louisiana music directories as a New Orleans traditional jazz clarinetist, he is part of the post‑revival generation that keeps early 20th‑century jazz idioms alive in the 21st century.[1] Burrage often works in club and festival settings where traditional jazz overlaps with other regional idioms, including Cajun music, reflecting the broader musical mix of south Louisiana.[2][4]

In addition to leading his own small groups, Burrage has been featured as the clarinetist with The Assunto Dukes, a modern band built around the repertoire and spirit of the original Dukes of Dixieland founded by brothers Frank and Freddie Assunto.[6] With this ensemble he appears in club residencies and special events, taking on the classic front‑line role associated with New Orleans clarinet—supplying obbligato lines around the melody, collective improvisation, and lyrical solo spots in a repertoire of traditional jazz, swing standards, and vintage New Orleans favorites.[6] He is also heard in French Quarter club performances documented on video, where he is billed simply as “Ryan Burrage (reeds),” underscoring his work on clarinet and related woodwinds in small‑group traditional jazz contexts.[4]

Burrage’s recorded and documented performances place him firmly in the New Orleans trad‑jazz tradition, drawing on the clarinet language pioneered by early Crescent City players and carried forward through the mid‑century revival bands.[1][6] By working with historically minded groups such as The Assunto Dukes and maintaining a regular presence in French Quarter venues, he contributes to the ongoing transmission of classic New Orleans ensemble practice to contemporary audiences, sustaining the stylistic continuity of the city’s clarinet lineage.[1][4][6]

Fun Facts

• Burrage is explicitly listed in a Louisiana music directory as a New Orleans traditional jazz clarinetist and bandleader, underscoring his recognized place in the city’s trad‑jazz scene.[1]
• He has been documented performing in the French Quarter at Fritzel’s, one of the best‑known Bourbon Street venues for traditional New Orleans jazz, where he is billed as playing “reeds.”[4]
• Through his role with The Assunto Dukes, he helps carry on the musical legacy of the famed Dukes of Dixieland, a group central to the mid‑20th‑century New Orleans jazz revival.[6]

Musical Connections

Key Collaborators

• The Assunto Dukes - Burrage serves as the clarinetist in this New Orleans traditional jazz group that continues the repertoire and style associated with the original Dukes of Dixieland founded by the Assunto family. (Live club dates, festival and special‑event performances with The Assunto Dukes) [c. 2010s–present (documented online in the 2010s–2020s)[6]]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Toulouse St. Blues (Toulouse Street Blues)
2. It's All Because Of You (Toulouse Street Blues)
3. Crescent City Serenade (Toulouse Street Blues)
4. The Accidental Stomp (Toulouse Street Blues)
5. Cakewalkin' Babies From Home (Toulouse Street Blues)
6. Shine (Toulouse Street Blues)
7. Blue Horizon (Toulouse Street Blues)
8. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans (Toulouse Street Blues)
9. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (Toulouse Street Blues)
10. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now (Toulouse Street Blues)

External Links

• Spotify