Mari Watanabe's Chosen Few Jazz Band
Pianist, composer, and arranger, Mari Watanabe began piano lessons at age five in Tokyo, where she was born. She was a member of the New Orleans Jazz Club while attending Waseda University, and after her first visit to New Orleans, she decided to make it her permanent home. Mari has performed with local jazz legends such as Danny Barker, Dr. Michael White, Gregg Stafford, Ernie K-Doe, Tuba Fats, and Kermit Ruffins, as well as with Harold Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the Chosen Few Jazz Band, which she now leads.