Trumpeter Shamarr Allen has played across the musical spectrum, from orchestral music to Willie Nelson’s band, but he is perhaps best known for his work with his own band, The Underdawgs, with the funk group Galactic, and for his Saints-inspired single, “Hit the Sean Payton.”

Allen was born in 1981 and raised in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. His father, an amateur horn player, taught him to play the trumpet when Shamarr was seven years old, and at 12 he was busking in the French Quarter with Tuba Fats. He played in marching and concert bands through school, and attended the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, where he studied under Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Clyde Kerr Jr., Herlin Riley and the late Alvin Batiste. Allen also credits Leroy Jones, Bob French, Joe Torregano, and Tim Green as mentors. 

Allen was part of the Treme neighborhood-based brass band resurgence, performing with the Hot 8, the Rebirth, and the L’il Rascals Brass Bands. When he was 16 he played at Carnegie Hall with the Mahogany Brass Band. He also spent time touring with Willie Nelson, R.E.M., and Eric Burdon, and spent several years with the funk band, Galactic.

Allen’s own band, the jazz-funk-rock Underdawgs, includes Floyd Gray on drums, Herbert Stevens on percussion, Jason Butler on keyboards, Matt Clark on guitar, and William Terry on bass. The Underdawgs have toured the world, including stints in Africa and Central Asia as cultural ambassadors for the U. S. State Department, and performed the National Anthem for President Barack Obama.

Allen has released four albums, all on his own label, with the most recent being the critically acclaimed True Orleans. He is a dedicated music educator, and formed the True Orleans Foundation to support young New Orleans musicians.