Meet the Band

Band members who frequently perform with JMO include:

Robert Maxwell - Bandleader, Drummer

Carrying on the heritage of drumming from his father and grandfather, Robert continues the tradition of Maxwell men who have been playing drums in New Orleans since the 1930s.  Robert began playing drums at the age of thirteen, and has gone on to arrange, record, and perform internationally.  Graduating from Louisiana State University with a Bachelors' of Arts in Music, he has played for such celebrities as Laura Bush, Steven Seagal, Brett Favre, and James Carville, and shared the stage with artists including Lee Greenwood and famed Frank Sinatra bandleader Leo Ursini. Robert has been the primary arranger and recording engineer for contemporary rock/funk/pop band Darwin (with whom he also toured the west coast) and up-and-coming pop star Kara Mann. He has also performed with the Art Monastery Project in Italy for two summers as the drummer-in-residence. In 2010, Robert began to take over as conductor for more than 25 annual Mardi Gras balls from his father, Jimmy, including Rex and Comus. An award-winning percussionist, Robert has recorded in New York, Florida, and Louisiana with the Louis Armstrong Society Jazz Band, LSU Wind Ensemble, Southern Mississippi Marching Band, and JMO.  

Jimmy Maxwell - Bandleader, Piano

Jimmy Maxwell is a society bandleader and pianist, as well as the founder and Executive Director of JMO. Blending the styles of Lester Lanin and Peter Duchin, he performs for debutante balls, charitable galas, and private parties across the U.S. and abroad in addition to providing the music of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Jimmy also serves as director of the Louis Armstrong Society Jazz Band, has conducted for Harry Connick Sr. in “A Tribute To Frank Sinatra with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra,” and performed for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, as well as members of the British Royal Family. Dubbed the "King of Mardi Gras Swing!" and "The Musical King of Carnival Balls" by The New Orleans Times Picayune, Jimmy has been the band for top social functions in New Orleans since 1981. From 1985 to 1989, Jimmy was partners with Peter Duchin, the famed society band leader from New York City. JMO’s performance at the 1988 Republican National Convention landed him on the front page of The New York Times along with Nancy and Ronald Reagan. President George H. W. Bush later invited him to play for the first anniversary inaugural ball at the Kennedy Center along with Harry Connick, Jr., Tony Bennett and Chubby Checker. Today, Jimmy continues to run the day to day business operations for JMO as his son, Robert, takes over the conducting of the band.

 

Denny Leroux - Vocalist, Guitarist

Denny Leroux - singer, guitarist, composer, recording artist - is a master at influencing the mood of a party. His unique stage presence and wonderful rapport with audiences make every appearance electric. Whether it's sweet and low sounds for dinner music, or wild driving party rock that gets everyone onto the dance floor, savvy party-givers know that Denny can play with the best. And play it he has - everywhere from Broadway to concert halls, society galas to corporate events, rock concerts to nightclubs. Denny's career experience has included performances with artists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix and Lester Lanin, in addition to sharing the stage with performers such as Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston. Debutante dances in New York, benefit galas in Palm Beach, inaugural balls in Washington, birthday parties in Nice - Denny has delighted audiences all over the world. 

 

Leo Ursini - Saxophonist

Leo Ursini is a musician and bandleader that has seen and done it all! Throughout his career, Leo has emerged as a preferred choice for elite patrons across America and abroad. He has played with bands that backed Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Davis, James Brown, Donna Summer, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Jack Jones, Rich Little, Vic Damone, Diahann Carroll, Tom Jones, The Supremes, Johnny Mathis and many others. Leading bands of any size and configuration, at celebrations of every conceivable description, Leo orchestrates a gala with the passion and precision of a poet lining a sonnet.  He deploys his inexhaustible repertoire with astute judgment, with cultured taste, with an intuitive genius bordering on the magical:  his saxophone articulates the elegance of a Gershwin tune or the jaunty society posture of a Cole Porter dance; his flute evokes a Latino mood or a classical interlude; his clarinet struts a little Dixieland with intrinsic flavor and identity intact, and he interprets the jubilant works of the king of rock ‘n roll with a bold imperative.

 

 Julie Jules - Vocalist

Julie was born to a musical family in New Orleans and started her singing career doing Broadway style revues in The Big Easy.  She later graduated from Loyola Music School in New Orleans (1979) earning her Masters Degree in music theory and composition. During the 1980’s Julie performed and recorded with the Dukes of Dixieland and has shared the stage with such notable entertainers as Henry Questa, Jack Immel, Big Tiny Little and Dick Dale from the Lawrence Welk Show as well as Tommy Newsome (The Tonight Show Orchestra) and New Orleans own Sam Butera.

 “I’ve been fortunate enough to sing songs that had wonderful lyrics, told stories and shared emotions,” says Julie. In addition to belting out a Bessie Smith or Sophie Tucker song you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear the influence of Ella Fitzgerald and a Cole Porter song sung the way Mr. Porter intended it. 

 Julie has performed and recorded with scores of well-known jazz musicians, and has been a headliner at countless jazz festivals around the world. Some of the venues include: The L.A. Jazz Classic, The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, The Phoenix Jazz Festival, The Las Vegas Jazz Fest and The Portland Oregon Jazz Festival. She has also appeared at The Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA, Disneyland, The Sun Dome in Phoenix, AZ, The Horizon Resort, Lake Tahoe NV, Harrah’s Reno NV; The AVI Resort, Laughlin, NV and the Excalibar in Las Vegas. A songstress with both a powerful and passionate voice, Julie brings a lifetime of experience and an extensive repertoire of songs to both JMO and Louis Armstrong Society Jazz Band. Together with Jimmy Maxwell, she serves up an entertaining musical experience that is as exciting as it is distinctive. Julie remains at the very top of her field. Video of Julie Jules with the JMO cover band.

 

Charles Darius - Vocalist, Guitarist

Charles hails from San Francisco, California, where he has found much success as a professional composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. Charles has performed in a wide array of performances, including staged musicals, plays, college recitals, symphonic wind ensembles, big bands, latin bands, funk bands, and rock bands, but most often he solos, self-accompanying his own compositions.  Recently, he played 11 different instruments in the rock opera: How To Survive The Apocalypse: A Burning Opera. 

In the last seven years, Charles has been involved with approximately 20 choral ensembles, three of which he founded and led, including the first ever all-male youth chorus in Santa Cruz, California, and has sung solos in pieces ranging from choral masterworks (Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah) to musicals and Latin folk songs. He has studied voice under several members of the world-renowned San Francisco chorus Chanticleer and studied music theory in college, but is primarily a self-taught performer and most often plays and sings his own music. His stage experience ranges from actor to dancer to instrumentalist in a range of media, including vaudeville shows, symphonic wind ensembles, funk bands, and musicals and plays. Since May 2010, Charles has been permanent member of the Art Monastery Project, where he serves as both Music Director and Chief Financial Officer.