Prolific across a wide swath of sonic topography, Detroit-raised, New Orleans-based musician Ari Teitel keeps many hot irons in his creative fire. A soulful expressionist, Ari’s guitar styles incorporate foundational influences R&B, funk, gospel, jazz, hip-hop, blues, and psychedelic rock, a greasy gumbo that coalesces with many multi-hued endeavors. A co-founder of premiere Mardi Gras Indian Funk band The Rumble feat. Chief Joseph Boudreaux, they released debut studio LP Stories From the Battlefield in 2024, and were swiftly GRAMMY nominated for the second straight year. The versatile 30-year old guitarist was recently drafted into Dumpstaphunk, the mighty Crescent City institution founded by Ivan Neville, a NOLA icon with whom Teitel has performed extensively.
In 2024, Ari announced a dynamite organ trio and forthcoming debut record alongside renowned drummer Adam Deitch (Lettuce, John Scofield) and keyboardist Sam Fribush. His latest experiment AX3 is an avant-garde instrumental project with drummer Alvin Ford Jr. (Pretty Lights, Jon Batiste) and The Rumble bandmate Andriu ‘Yano’ Yanovski on keyboards. This flurry of diverse activity comes in the tailwind of The Rumble’s searing Live at The Maple Leaf (2023), and his own swaggering sophomore solo LP I Got My Thing (2022). An in-demand multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer, Ari Teitel has collaborated with local legends Irma Thomas, George Porter Jr. (The Meters), PJ Morton, Nicholas Payton, and Herlin Riley; in 2021, he worked with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Iggy Pop. For three years, Teitel was Musical Director of Cha Wa, receiving two GRAMMY nominations: Spyboy, (2018) and My People (2021). The guitarist performs annually at the world famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and coveted all-star Jazz Fest late-night events. International appearances include JazzAscona in Switzerland, Montreal International Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Cupa Dupa in New Zealand, and a European tour with Jamison Ross.