For those unaware, Mark Braud is a New Orleans trumpeter whose musical roots run deep in the city’s jazz tradition. Born into a family with a longstanding musical legacy, Braud became associated with Preservation Hall at a young age, developing his musical voice within a community shaped by generations of New Orleans performers.

His work reflects a connection to that heritage while remaining open to new repertoire and musical approaches. His playing draws on melodic expression, improvisation, rhythmic feeling, and the interplay among musicians.

A significant creative collaborator is pianist Meghan Swartz, a Seattle native who settled in New Orleans more than two decades ago. She established herself within the city’s musical community, working with respected New Orleans artists including trumpeter Leroy Jones and clarinetist Charlie Gabriel. Together, Braud and Swartz bring their shared musical experience to arrangements and performances that draw upon the city’s distinctive jazz language.

On Down in New Orleans: The Music of Gregg Hill (out November 13th, 2026 via Cold Plunge Records), trumpeter Mark Braud and pianist Meghan Swartz bring nine compositions by Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill into the musical world of New Orleans.

Arranged by Braud and Swartz for ensembles ranging from quintet to octet, the recording draws on the city’s rhythmic character, instrumental voices, and improvisational traditions to reveal new possibilities within Hill’s contemporary writing. The music moves between buoyant collective passages, intimate ensemble textures, and the unmistakable energy of the New Orleans street.

1. Lafayette Square [4:26]
2. Classical Jam [4:38]
3. City Life [4:52]
4. Butterbear’s Happy Tune [2:54]
5. Older Folks [5:48]
6. Loisiana [3:46]
7. Movie Theme [5:12]
8. Hyperbarity [6:00]
9. Rockology [4:02]

The American jazz trumpeter and band leader, who is also the current leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s New Orleans band, and Mark Braud’s Jazz Giants, opens his new recording on the jubilant Lafayette Square and the languishingly smoothness of Classical Jam and they are followed by the sumptuously crafted City Life and the decadently-laced Butterbear’s Happy Tune.

Along next is the resplendent Older Folks which is itself backed seamlessly by the luminously-hued Loisiana, and the playfully engaging Movie Theme, the new set rounding out on the effulgent Hyperbarity, coming to a close on the vibrant and bobby-dazzling Rockology.

PLAYERS:
Mark Braud — trumpet; Roderick Paulin — alto and tenor saxophones, tracks 1, 2, 4–9; Rex Gregory — tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Charlie Halloran — trombone, tracks 1, 2, 4–9; Meghan Swartz — piano; Grayson Brockamp — bass, tracks 2–8; Peter Varnado — drums; Bruce Brackman — clarinet, track 5; Ronell Johnson — sousaphone and trombone, tracks 1, 9; Andriu “Yano” Yanovski — organ, tracks 1, 9.

www.markbraud.com

www.gregghilljazz.com