The Blues Experiment

Jennie Brent grew up in a family

of music lovers and has been

playing cello for 25 years. She

studied at Bard College and

Manhattan School of Music,

where she was mentored by

Ole Akahoshi, Peter Wiley, and

Julia Lichten. Jennie has lived

in New Orleans since 2020,

where she loves collaborating

with musicians in a variety of

styles, recording as a studio cellist, improvising, and

composing. In addition to

Semaj & The Blues Experiment,

she performs regularly with

Miss Morning, The Klezmerinas, and Versipel New Music.

Chris Beroes-Haigis fell in love with music from a very young age. He began playing guitar at 11, and quickly went on to write and perform songs with a band he formed with his friends. He later picked up the cello, and went on to study classical

performance and composition at

Bard College and the University of

Texas at El Paso. Chris moved to New Orleans in 2021 where he

composes, arranges, records and

performs in a range of styles from

the fully notated to the full

improvised. In addition to the Blues

Experiment, he is a member of the

Chris Christy Quintet, The GET, The

Sarah Quintana Band, and regularly

performs with Sofia Mock, Carmela Rappazzo, Mark Carroll, Gabrielle Fischler and Martin Masakowski.

Ian Michael Monroe is a New Orleans-based upright and electric bassist. Starting his musical journey in 2021 with the double bass, he quickly became a familiar face. Ian’s projects have ranged from funk, R&B, traditional jazz, post-bop, bebop, and jazz manouche.

Sam Colgate is a drummer, composer, and educator based in New Orleans. Born in Chicago, Sam moved to New Orleans in 2012 to attend Loyola University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree with a focus on Jazz Studies in 2016.

Since moving to New Orleans, Sam has had opportunities to study with some of the city’s best, including Johnny Vidacovich, Stanton Moore, Wayne Maureau, and Jim Atwood.

Sam can be found playing all over town as a sideman with acts of all genres, as well as leading his own groups, The Colgate Collective and Desire Path.

He has had opportunities to tour around the country with multiple groups, spreading the music he loves to people all over.

Joseph Bruster Jr., better known as Jojo Bruster or Jo.B Drummer, is a New Orleans-born musician who's been behind the drums since the age of two. He got his start in church and grew into a versatile drummer with a deep love for groove and connection through music.

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Jo.B has played stages all over the U.S. and abroad, with stops in Italy, Switzerland, and Jamaica. He’s been blessed to work with an incredible range of artists and bands including Chapel Hart, Bo Dollis Jr. & The Wild Magnolias, Zena Moses & Rue Fiya, Marvin Sapp, and many more.

Camara is currently studying music at Louisiana State University and aspires to be a well know bass player throughout the city of New Orleans and beyond.