Lucky Chops - Misplaced Pages

American jazz band

Lucky Chops
Performing at Zelt-Musik-Festival 2017. L-R: Gawel, Buyo, Sams, Josh Holcomb, Behroozi.
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active	2006–present

Members	Josh Holcomb Daro Behroozi Joshua Gawel Nora Nalepka Ben Holcomb Rogerst Charles

Website	luckychops.com

Lucky Chops is a band from New York City, which formed in 2006 and has performed professionally since 2014. They achieved prominence through performances on the New York City Subway which were filmed and shared on the internet.

History

The band was founded in 2006 at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School by sousaphone player Raphael Buyo along with trombonist Josh Holcomb and saxophonist and clarinetist Daro Behroozi. The band was originally formed for a parade of Filipino culture that Buyo wanted to participate in; after that they began busking on street corners and in subway stations. During their time at college, they decided to take their band to a professional level.

The name "Lucky Chops" was proposed by the band's original trumpet player, Daniel Rutkowski, during a word-association brainstorming session and refers to the fact that all of the players' primary instruments (except the drums) are wind instruments.

Their early music was mainly covers and mash-ups of other songs. Their original works are influenced by the vast mix of cultures in NYC. The band performs a wide variety of musical styles and is not bound by a single genre.

The band began by playing in the New York Subway for commuters. They gained brief internet fame from a 2016 YouTube video showing their rendition of "Funky Town" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" featuring Leo Pellegrino, which helped to significantly boost their popularity. Around this time, they released their first album, Lucky Chops NYC.

The band has seen over 50 musicians play with them over the past 14 years, including Grace Kelly and Sunny Jain. They are also the live house band of the MTV show Girl Code Live.

Discography

Lucky Chops NYC (2015)
2016 World Tour - EP (2016)
Walter - EP (2017)
Virtue and Vice Sessions, Vol. 1 - EP (2018)
Lucky Chops (2019)
Virtue and Vice Sessions, Vol. 2 (2020)
2014 (2020)
Live in L.A. (2021)
New Day (2022)
Virtue & Vice Sessions, Vol. 3 (2024)

Members

Dates cover period of professional performance from 2014 onwards

Current

Joshua Gawel - trumpet (2014-present), rotary flugelhorn, piano, vocals
Josh Holcomb - trombone (2014-present), baritone horn, piano, percussion, vocals
Rogerst Charles - alto saxophone (2022-present)
Daro Behroozi - tenor saxophone (2014-2023), baritone saxophone (2017-18, 2023-present), clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, alto saxophone, flute, vocals
Nora Nalepka - sousaphone (2021-present), vocals, percussion
Ben Holcomb - drums (2021-present), percussion, vocals