New Orleans Club Owner George Brumat Dies

By I Jul. 9, 2007

NEW ORLEANS—George Brumat, who founded New Orleans joint Port of Call, owned jazz club Snug Harbor and became a well-known advocate for the New Orleans jazz community, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported. He was 63.

Brumat was not married and had no children. He spent most of his nights at Snug Harbor, which he opened on Frenchmen Street in 1983, long before the area had developed into the bustling entertainment district it is today.

Brumat rode out Hurricane Katrina at his apartment, guarding Snug Harbor against looters in the turbulent days that followed. Music resumed at Snug with free shows by a handful of available musicians. Those shows lost money, but Brumat believed that live jazz was important for morale—both his and those struggling to return and rebuild.

Brumat is survived by a brother in Pascagoula, Miss., and two nieces in Italy.

As for the future of Snug Harbor, the club’s manager said Brumat had expressed his desire, in the event of his passing, for the club to continue.