New Orleans Brass Bands S/D

I can't go without mentioned the (however unlikely) on the level Wisconsin brass band scene, Mama Digdown's and Youngblood. I'm sure I've hyped up Youngblood on other threads, but they really are something these days, the new Def Jux album will be tight. It wasn't until after I started listening to a lot of other brass band music that I realized how unique their sound is, clean and precise instead of greasy and raucous (both are great in their way of course).

Speaking of which, what about brass bands from neither New Orleans nor Wisconsin?

The parallel in Minneapolis (where I live) is the Jack Brass Band. I'm all for this kind of thing, but these groups are to Rebirth what Antibalas is to Fela.

I lived in New Orleans for a year and my favorite Rebirth album is still Take It To the Street. Ex-Rebirth member Kermit Ruffins has his own band which is pretty great, too. I find Dirty Dozen boring on CD and in concert, sorry.

My favorite Rebirth story was seeing the guys perform in the bywater one night when members of the Afghan Whigs were in the audience, then seeing the band again in the Zulu parade the next morning. Turns out Rebirth had literally performed all night and went straight to the parade without rest. A float got stuck on a tree, and Rebirth were still energetic enough to challenge a high school band to a battle while the parade stood still. Guess who won.

I still listen to 'New Orleans Album' quite regularly, but it's the only one I've got.

I don't suppose anyone's heard the new one (Medicated Magic)?

I've been listening non-stop to the New Birth Brass Band record, it is HOT SHIT. Totally on Rebirth's level or more so, and it's probably the most spontaneous, live sounding studio album I've ever heard.

or was it not so brass band-y?

Recommend me some New Orleans funeral jazz, please!

And I know this is rockist of me, but the older and more authentic, the better..

thanx

Other than that, just go to Louisiana Music Factory and check out anything by Treme Brass Band (the most well-known band playing in a really trad style that's still around) or Dejan's Olympia Brass Band.

I'll send you a mix if you want to e-mail me, I'm always happy to spread the gospel. Also my brass band should be playing at the Green Mill again in the next couple months.

I really hope their 20th anniversary show dvd comes out, the show was sort of a mess but Cheeky Blakk came out and did Pop That Pussy for 15 minutes, humping trombone cases, Kabuki riding on her back, etc. :>

Yeah, remind me! I've missed you guys a few times now!

New Birth Brass Band, D-Boy
Rebirth Brass Band, Hot Venom
Stooges Brass Band, It's About Time
Soul Rebels Brass Band, No More Parades
Lil' Rascals Brass Band, Buck It Like a Horse

Also a word about Derrick 'Kabuki' Shezbie - he's the main trumpet player for Rebirth, and he was in New Birth as a teenager (he's all over D-Boy). He's SO MUCH LOUDER than any trumpet player I've ever heard, not to mention the fire. His sound is completely wide-open and really sums up the brass band sound for me (he takes the solo on the Rebirth tune I posted above).

HOWEVER, yeah, they take marching band pretty seriously down south and a lot of those kids have incredible chops. We were standing outside of Tipatina's during a parade last Mardi Gras and this high school trumpet line came by blowing high F's and we were like WHAT?! I think that a huge majority of New Orleans brass band musicians came up in those bands and always check them out during parade season, etc.

I am also interested in Jordan's mix.

But still go to Donna's and the Maple Leaf and Le Bon Temps and Cafe Brasil!

most of which are hosting jam bands anyway)

Oh god this is so horribly OTM.

I am also interested in Jordan's mix.

Send me your address.

In Tower Records I noticed in the new Downbeat magazine a nice article on New Orleans brass bands and more. The Stooges Brass band, Hot 8, and Soul Rebels are all here. I haven't checked to see if the article is online.

As a contributing supporter of afropop.org I get a weekly e-mail thing from them. This week they have a nice photo-essay by Ned Sublette(musician, musicologist and author of that immense book on Cuban music) on New Orleans. Sublette is living there for awhile and studying the Caribbean roots of New Orleans. He's got an interview with Donald Harrison and some others. I think you can check it all out at afropop.org

I think one was called Yarl River Blues Band.

I'll be going down to Jazzfest the first weekend to play with Mama Digdown's and see brass bands, can't wait.

From the April issue excerpt on Downbeat's website:

Next Generation New Orleans Brass Bands
Brass Beyond The Streets

By Jennifer Odell

Philip Frazier honks his sousaphone on a chilly January Sunday on the corner of Daneel and 3rd streets. Musicians start to shuffle away from the crowd milling outside the Bean Brothers Bar and strap on horns and snare drums, ready to get their roll on. Dancers for the Undefeated Dicas Social Aid and Pleasure Club come around the corner and tubas, sousaphones, saxophones and bass drums fall in line as the Divas belt out The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.”

Winding past Mary’s Nightowl Bar, Candlelight Bar, Sandpiper and The New Look, the parading community group hits all of the Uptown neighborhood’s brass band stops. Ostrich plumes fan the air above the Divas in time with Frazier’s non-stop vamps. When the dancers slow down and form a circle, trading moves with kids, the band plays even harder, echoing braay swueals off the projects across the street. This is how brass band music was born.

But it’s growing up. And while playing the second lines and funerals remains important, many of today’s hottest brass players are concentrating more on polishing their CDs and getting national recognition than on stealing the show on Sunday afternoons. The current generation is following the successful business model created by the Dirty Dozen and Rebirth brass bands; updating a traditional sound to make the music relevant to a larger audience. And with each step forward, another cross-breed of the brass band sound is born. Mardi Gras Indian bands like Big Sam’s Funky Nation are based in funk, the Soul Rebels are purveyors of hip-hop and the Hot 8, New Birth and the Stooges hold down the street scene with their bebop-heavy takes on the traditional style.

MARDI GRAS 2005: a photo essay by Ned Sublette
Also Check out Interviews with Joseph Roach, Donald Harrison, and Vicki Mayer by Ned Sublette

The state of schools and marching bands and changes since New Orleans got so many charter schools rather than going to neighborhood ones

https://www.hnoc.org/publications/first-draft/keeping-beat-past-glories-and-present-challenges-new-orleans-marching-bands

Sporty's Brass Band IG live clips continue to wow me

I was at one of those nights at Bullet's bar and the energy was insane.

Hearing that Jeffrey Hills (tuba player on Lil Rascals 'Buck It Like a Horse', frequent sub for Rebirth and everyone else) passed away???

Yeah just saw that on Facebook. So sad

They rolled today for Mr. Jeffery Hills pic.twitter.com/DhVjmBpgZv

— Shawniece👑🐝 (@ShawnieceQB) April 11, 2023

Come out tomorrow y’all pic.twitter.com/DLP5oVOsK6

— Shawniece👑🐝 (@ShawnieceQB) April 13, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLx4dxurbdQ

Truly some all-stars out there - Derrick Tabb, Corey Henry, Eric Gordon, Chad Honore, Terrence Andrews, Stafford Agee, etc

Great to hear all those Lil' Rascals tunes done with the original drummers & Corey Henry in the lineup. Damn.

Did I spot Donna Poniatowski, or just someone who looks like her?

Yep, that was her! Got some pics of the second line from her too.

Cool! Good to see her.

Seeing on Facebook that 97 year old Peter Chuck Badie who played bass with a who's who of r'n'b greats has passed away.

Here's a 2017 article that touches on some of his accomplishments

https://louisarmstrongjazzcamp.com/news-events/events/scholarship-fundraiser/peter-chuck-badie-receives-the-jazz-pioneer-award-at-the-noachc-2017-scholarship-fundraiser/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugOhN0YObr4

https://www.offbeat.com/music/new-breed-brass-band-made-in-new-orleans-525-worldwide/

A review of album by New Breed Brass Band

Old-school me was hoping to see website news obits for New Orleans music greats Jeffrey Hills , Sr and for Peter Chuck Badie. But I never did.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/drumming-for-treme-brass-band-or-driving-his-famous-orange-truck-benny-jones-sr-is/article_cec1bfe2-e9da-11ed-ac1c-db40cc19cc0e.html

Long profile of percussionist Benny Jones Sr

So Nola.com gave New Orleans bass player legend Peter Chuck Badie this standard obit. He played with Dave Bartholomew r’n’b sessions in the 50s and on Sam Cooke “A Change is Gonna Come” plus with Lionel Hampton, and more.

https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/peter-badie-obituary?id=51734149

Heard some Alabama brass band on that American Routes show that sounded good

Melissa A. Weber (a.k.a. Soul Sister), D.J. and scholar
“Right Foot” by Rebirth Brass Band

A special characteristic of New Orleans jazz is its function as dance music. It invites audience members to not spectate, but participate. In the New Orleans brass band jazz tradition, the pioneering Rebirth Brass Band has specialized in making people dance since the group formed 40 years ago, while its founding members were teenagers. In 2008, they rerecorded their original song “Put Your Right Foot Forward,” first released in the mid-1980s as a 45 on the local SYLA label. It’s a classic that other brass bands have added to their repertoires, whether on the stage or in the second-line streets. (Listen on YouTube)

From https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/arts/music/new-orleans-jazz-music.html

YIL that "Didn't He Ramble" was written about a goat.

https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-curious-history-of-oh-didnt-he-ramble/

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/new-orleans-drummer-russell-batiste-jrs-st-aug-funeral/article_8655a294-67b3-11ee-a45b-c34a8115590e.html

Russell Batiste jr , New Orleans drummer Dead at 57 from a heart attack.

For four decades, he was a stalwart of the New Orleans music community. In the late 1980s he applied his powerhouse style to a latter incarnation of the Meters, then spent years with that band’s successor, the Funky Meters.

Batiste also powered George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Dumpstaphunk, Bonerama, Papa Grows Funk, the Wild Magnolias, the Joe Krown Trio and his own Orkestra from da Hood and Russell Batiste & Friends.

Yeah, I saw that the other day, sad. Younger than I am.

RIP.

I thought he played on a couple tracks on Maceo Parker's Southern Exposure record, then realized that was Herman Ernest III, who died in 2011 at age 59. :(

Every Grammy Awards nominee for best Regional Roots music Album for the February 2024 Grammys is from Louisiana:

New Beginnings
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band

Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers

Live: Orpheum Theater Nola
Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Made In New Orleans
New Breed Brass Band

Too Much To Hold
New Orleans Nightcrawlers

Live At The Maple Leaf
The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr

I should listen to these Grammys nominees but will any of them wow me the way Sporty’s Brass Band Instagram Live’s do ?

Probably not, but I do like that Buckwheat's, Rockin' Dopsie's and Monk's offspring are all carrying on the tradition.

Yes , and the Lost Bayou Ramblers are a very creative Cajun band . Louis Michot from that group has done some cool solo stuff and the group was did nice music on the Beasts of the Southern Wild soundtrack

https://www.offbeat.com/news/frenchmen-street-club-d-b-a-new-orleans-is-sold/

D.b.a. Club owner retiring and selling club to locals who already own other clubs

Thank god for this woman and anyone else who's uploading full second line footage, rather than IG clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paLacuoI5Iw

Yes, thanks !

St. Mary’s Academy’s skirt-wearing band first formed in 1937, making it the oldest Black girls band marching in the city. Today, it is one of just a handful of all-girl bands to regularly appear in Mardi Gras parades...This Mardi Gras season also marks the first time Raynice Crayton, 27, will be at the band’s helm. A St. Mary’s alumna who joined the band as a seventh-grader, Crayton has already more than doubled band membership during her short tenure as director..The group’s 52 players have varying levels of experience, from novices to passionate musicians, and they range in grades from fourth to 12th. In New Orleans East, where the school’s campus has been located since the 1960s, Crayton spends hours teaching girls the 10 tunes they will perform this Carnival, ranging from traditional music to a Janet Jackson song to the group’s favorite this year: “Talking in Your Sleep” by the Romantics..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2024/02/12/mardi-gras-girls-marching-band/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA3NzE0MDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA5MDk2Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDc3MTQwMDAsImp0aSI6Ijk5OGU2NGM1LTg2NDktNDUyYS1hNTE4LWZlZTI3ZWNjOGJlZiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zdHlsZS9vZi1pbnRlcmVzdC8yMDI0LzAyLzEyL21hcmRpLWdyYXMtZ2lybHMtbWFyY2hpbmctYmFuZC8ifQ.v-dFiptu0EAVbzwspUbkiE3UJD4SNps-CIPtXTNLnZs

Happy Mardi Gras!

Seeing sad news on Instagram that snare drummer Kerry “Fatman” Hunter was killed by a car ( reportedly a drunk driver) on North Claiborne at Pauger Monday night

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/13/arts/music/new-orleans-rapper-flagboy-giz.html

37 years old rapper & Black masking Indian merges the 2 cultures on “We Outside “ 2022 song and newer album, and a remix project

I heard that, so sad. He was never the flashiest player but had a huge and unmistakable sound, deeply rooted in the tradition. The groove on 'D-Boy' is fathoms deep. Unfortunately a lot of the best parts of New Birth Brass Band's (his main band) discography are not streaming or even on youtube, but here are some of my favorite Kerry Hunter recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQELLw2A_nw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=verTSC200Ls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDuwGU_cB5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUtJAsp28WQ

I am not going to be there and so hope the Friday 1 pm pacific time Pop Con presentation by USC professor Josh D Kun on the Mexican musical legacies of New Orleans will be streamed or recorded

WWOZ is streaming some of French Quarter Fest

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/04/african-caribbean-artists-new-orleans-music-jazz

African and Caribbean musicians moving to New Orleans

https://www.offbeat.com/news/palm-court-jazz-cafe-announces-closure-after-35-years/

Trad jazz place Palm Court Jazz Cafe closing after 35 years due to rising expenses

The Mother-in-Law Lounge will open Tuesdays at 4 p.m. ahead of trumpeter Irvin Mayfield's weekly performance from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The club will then go dark until Saturdays, when doors open at 6 from Ruffins' weekly gig from 8 to 10 p.m.

Otherwise, the Mother-in-Law Lounge will only be active for private events.

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/keith_spera/kermit-ruffins-cuts-back-treme-mother-in-law-lounge-hours/article_975dd374-1d1e-11ef-8164-877897fa52df.html

Damn, bad news for both of those venues.

For some reason I thought New Orleans band Cha Wa was kind of a jam band, but I got free tickets for their dc gig at the Library of Congress and they are a funk band with a bit of brass. The group includes 2 Black Masking Indians one who plays sax and does vocals, and the the other uses a tambourine and raps. The group also has a trumpet player, a trombonist, a male lead vocalist, two female backing vocalists, bassist, guitarist, keyboard/organ player, full trap drummer, and a background vocalist /percussionist. It was a fun gig.

It's kinda weird, they were started by the drummer (not a New Orleans guy) and used to have Joe from TBC on trombone and Thaddeus from Big 6/Stooges on tuba (who incidentally has been detained in Bermuda, it's really weird and apparently the sentencing hearing is today?). But those guys (and Chief Joseph, the frontman) split off and made their own band, The Rumble (I always forget the name) - https://therumbleband.com/. I don't know who's in Cha Wa now.

The printed program included some names- Cam Clark trumpet; Kaleb Summers trombone; Tajh Derosier sax and lead vocals; Joe Gelini drums & bandleader; Rik Fletcher keys ; Jay Sutton bass; Matt Kruft guitar plus a bunch of vocalists

the two leaders of Cha Wa, singer/percussionist Honey Banister and drummer Joe Gelini, have been involved with the Mardi Gras Indians for years. Honey Banister, Big Chief of the Creole Wild West tribe, combines both the Mardi Gras Indian tradition and the history of New Orleans rhythm and blues. His father, Irving Banister Sr., is an unsung hero of New Orleans music, having played with everyone from Danny White to Eddie Bo to Allen Toussaint. It is his guitar on “Sugar Boy” Crawford's original version of the song “Jock-A-Mo.” Honey’s mother, Big Queen Ledell Banister, is also a member of the Creole Wild West tribe - recognized as the oldest of all the tribes, dating back to the late 1800’s. She got Honey involved when he was 6, and he has been with them ever since, recently rising to the highest rank of the tribe.

Gelini moved to New Orleans after graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. “That's where I first heard of the Mardi Gras Indians,” he recalls, “I went to see Idris Muhammed (the New Orleans-born seminal jazz/funk drummer) play, and I asked if I could have a lesson. When we got together, he told me, 'Man, you got to understand what I'm playing is the Mardi Gras Indian tambourine parts when I'm playing the snare drum.”' After he moved to New Orleans, Joe saw the Mardi Gras Indians emerging on Mardi Gras day to march down Dryades Street and, he says, “I was hooked. It's a spiritual thing. It's more than the music.”

Heh, "involved" is doing very different work there.

Yep. Well, the free in DC Cha Wa gig was still fun. Cha Was played NYC a night later I think. Maybe the Rumble can get booked at those spots sometime.

Speaking of Mardi Gras Indians, I wanna see this Guardians of the Flame doc that was started by the late Jonathan Demme

https://www.guardiansoftheflamemovie.org/about#:~:text=Guardians%20of%20the%20Flame%20is,Demme%20and%20writer%20Daniel%20Wolff.

https://www.guardiansoftheflamemovie.org/

Seeing Instagram ads for The Rumble album and tour dates . They’re playing for free Saturday near me