Seva Venet - New Orleans Guitar/Banjo Jazz Guitarist from New Orleans, LA

In addition to working steady in trios and larger groups, Seva Venet is currently available for solo guitar and banjo work. A diverse musician, Seva specializes in New Orleans music with a vast repertoire of old time jazz tunes, blues, ragtime, American songbook standards, folk songs, Caribbean, Latin American and original music. In addition to solo jazz guitar and banjo, Seva is also available for events calling for classical and latin tinged performances. Seva is active in the New Orleans music scene and can be found performing on guitar and/or banjo with many New Orleans traditional jazz greats as well as leading his own band the Storyville Stringband. He has performed at numerous festivals and concerts in New Orleans including multiple annual appearances at French Quarter Fest, Satchmo Fest, and Jazz and Heritage Fest as well festivals abroad and touring in Europe. In addition to performing Seva also composes,, writes articles and reviews traditional jazz CDs, teaches music, and leads educational workshops for students and professionals on New Orleans jazz. Some notable articles include “The Hawaiian Tinge” written for the Tulane Jazz Archivist in 2012 exploring the connection between New Orleans music and Hawaiian music from 1880 to 1950, an article for Offbeat magazine in 2012 on early string band music in New Orleans around Louis Armstrong's early years and most recently an article in January 2021 he contributed an article to Offbeat Magazine covering the history of the banjo in New Orleans. He's also led “informances” (lectures with performances) at the U.S. Mint and at Satchmo Summer Fest on New Orleans string bands, Louis Armstrong and the Hawaiian/New Orleans music connection. Seva moved to New Orleans in 1999 and currently plays with the best traditional jazz musicians in the city. Coming at New Orleans traditional music from the streets (where it began) he learned to play funky, HOT, exciting music. Seva is part of the history, the traditional culture. Yet, he's also a library nerd who loves to research and write: "My intention is to preserve by bringing forward real traditional New Orleans music in all its funkiness, and intellectually and creatively stimulating aspects." Though he moved to New Orleans as an adult and did not go to grade school in Louisiana, he has connected hundreds of children in several local schools with their cultural heritage, our cultural heritage. Seva proudly affirms: "In the process of teaching I have learned to appreciate the importance of our culture and intend to keep it alive through all of my work."

• Winin' Boy | Blues/Jelly Roll Morton
• Struttin' With Some BBQ | Jazz/Louis Armstrong
• Just a Closer Walk With Thee | Spiritual/Unknown
• The Entertainer | Ragtime/Joplin
• Hallelujah | Leonard Cohen
• Aye, Ma Inez | Latin/Grillo
• A Fool Such As I | Country/Trader
• St. Louis Blues | Blues/Handy
• La Mer (Beyond The Sea) | Standard/Trenet
• Nuages | Jazz/Django
• Song of the Islands | Hawaiian/King
• Sunny Side of the Street | Jazz pop/McHough,Fields
• Blueberry Hill | Rock-n-Roll/Rose,Stock,Lewis
• Joe Avery's Piece/2nd Line | New Orleans Jazz/Avery
• Girl from Ipanema | Bossa Nova/Jobim