WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Duo Brings Bourbon Street Sounds to Church Street

Duo Brings Bourbon Street Sounds to Church Street

Burlington, Vermont - August 4, 2009

From the day a certain pair of musicians came marching in to Burlington, Church Street has been filled with the sounds of New Orleans. Crowds gather to bob their heads and tap their feet to the music of Doreen's Jazz.

Doreen's Jazz is Lawrence Ketchens and his wife, Doreen. He plays the tuba. She plays clarinet and sings.

"Well it's not something you hear on Church Street, it's more jazzy, which is nice," said Allison Ailor who stopped to listen to the duo, Tuesday night.

Doreen and Lawrence grew up in New Orleans. She trained as a classical musician until she met the jazz-playing Lawrence. They studied at the University of Hartford in Connecticut and worked as a chef and house painter, respectively, until their fathers died and they moved back to Louisiana.

The couple was making good money in Connecticut but was having a hard time making similar earnings in New Orleans.

"We took a walk out in the french quarters and we saw some people playing on the street, and he said, 'Well we could do that,' and I'm like, 'I'm not playing no the street. You must be crazy!'," Doreen says of her transition to street performer. "But you know love makes you do crazy things."

Doreen's Jazz earned their chops playing on Bourbon Street and brought their sound to Church Street last summer when a friend suggested it might be a good stop on the way to Quebec. They liked it so much they came back this year.

"It's been very nice," Doreen says of her time up north. "The people have been absolutely beautiful and warm and receptive."

Playing on the street has lead to professional gigs in places as far away at Tokyo. Just a few days ago they were playing in Maine.

The money the Ketchens earn goes toward rebuilding their home, which was damaged by hurricane Katrina.

"We make our money on the street and we put our money toward living and working on the house," says Doreen.

The musicians do not have a set schedule for when they play Church Street. They fit it in between professional gigs and will only stay until the end of summer.

Bianca Slota - WCAX News