Naughty Professor is a horn-heavy jazz-funk sextet with a sound as energetic and unique as New Orleans. The young band has earned acclaim from critics and their musical peers, and garnered an enthusiastic following across the globe as they tour on their own or with mega-groups like Galactic.
In 2011, a group of Loyola University music students began playing together in what would evolve into Naughty Professor (named because “we were all in school at the time.”) Influenced by contemporary bands like Snarky Puppy and Lettuce, a Naughty Professor weaves New Orleans funk, R & B, and brass band components into an improvisational, jazz-based sound that is both cutting edge and highly danceable.
Collaboration is the name of the game. Each member of the band – Bill Daniel on guitar, Noah Young on bass, Nick Ellman on alto and bari sax, Ian Bowers on tenor sax, John Culbreth on trumpet, and Sam Shahin on drums - (original drummer Danny Milojevic left the group in 2012) – contributes to their compositions equally. Moreover, the band partners with a plethora of musicians on stage and in the recording studio, including Ivan Neville, Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), David Shaw (The Revivalists), Sasha Masakowski, Cliff Hines, the mix artist QMillion, Dexter Gilmore, Mike Dillon, and Cole DeGenova.
The band has released several albums and EPs, including 2017’s critically acclaimed “Identity” and the 2019 release, “Everyday Shredder.” They have toured around the U. S., including headlining at New York City’s famed Blue Note Jazz Club, and in the fall of 2019 made their first foray overseas supporting Galactic. They have also performed with Soulive, Victor Wooten, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Revivalists, Rebirth and Soul Rebels Brass Bands, and George Porter, Jr.
After graduation, the band dedicated themselves to life as professional musicians, and soon began landing club gigs and slots at festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. They now tour regularly, and can be heard in New Orleans and across the country.
