Duke Heitger
trumpet

Trumpeter Duke Heitger landed in New Orleans in 1991 and since then has become one of the most sought-after players on the international scene. As a youngster, he became fascinated with his dad’s record collection, and listened to discs by Louis Armstrong, Bunny Berrigan, Roy Eldridge, Red Allen, Bobby Hackett, and Bix Beiderbecke. Duke started playing professional jobs at age twelve and was touring while still in his teens. Now leading his own ensemble, and working with bands led by such classic jazz stalwarts as Dick Hyman, James Dapogny and Butch Thompson, Duke Heitger has been featured numerous times on Riverwalk Jazz and on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion.