Nearly two years ago, a YouTube video went New Orleans-viral. Against a percolating sousaphone groove, five horn players—two trumpets, two saxophones and a trombonist—form a line under an impossibly low drop ceiling. Dancers crowd a tiny space in front of the band. There is no stage. The players look vaguely familiar; the melody of the [...]
Tag Archives: brass bands
The Original Pinettes Brass Band: Brass-Pop
July 1, 2012 – 12:15 am
It’s Friday night on Frenchmen Street, almost 10 p.m., and a crowd is starting to gather in strength at Maison. Christie Jourdain, snare drummer and leader of the Original Pinettes, stands at the front door greeting fans and checking out the scene while the rest of the band collects at the banquette in the back [...]
Euphoria Brass Band, Coast to Coast (Independent)
June 1, 2012 – 12:49 am
San Diego’s Euphoria Brass Band has a solid handle on modern brass band music in the Rebirth/Dirty Dozen mold. Maybe that’s because its founders, snare drummer Ron Bocian and guitarist/banjoist David Bandrowski, are ex-residents of New Orleans. On Coast to Coast, the group makes its stylistic leanings clear with a pair of Dirty Dozen tunes, [...]
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue + the Hot 8 Brass Band at Wednesday at the Square: Photos
May 24, 2012 – 4:17 pm
Yesterday was one of the biggest Wednesday at the Square concerts of the year, with New Orleans superstar Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue headlining the free show. Even Mayor Mitch Landrieu made an appearance, hanging out both back- and on-stage. The Hot 8 Brass band opened the concert. Next week’s performance, the second to last [...]
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band + The Breton Sound at Wednesday at the Square: Photos
May 17, 2012 – 2:12 pm
One of the beauties of the Wednesday at the Square concerts is how it combines the varied styles of music available in New Orleans. Yesterday’s show was a perfect example, with guitar-heavy rock band The Breton Sound opening for brass band pioneers the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The concerts are presented by the Young Leadership [...]
YouTube du Jour: Stooges Brass Band with Mannie Fresh
May 10, 2012 – 12:40 pm
In our current May issue we report on the Stooges Brass Band recording with producer Mannie Fresh. The two were paired up after the Stooges won the Red Bull Street Kings Brass Band Blowout competition in fall 2010, for which Fresh served as a judge. The prize was to record an album at Red Bull’s [...]
Blue Train Productions’ Brass Band Week Releases: Reviews
May 1, 2012 – 12:40 am
Producer/entrepreneur Ben Coltrane boldly goes where no man or label has gone before, releasing seven brass-band CDs in seven days, six by local bands and one by a Japanese band. Coltrane recorded a single band, To Be Continued, in 2009, then We Are One and Young Fellaz in 2010. Next year, the producer/entrepreneur intends to [...]
Blue Train Production’s Brass Band Week: A Lot of Brass
April 1, 2012 – 12:08 am
Ben Coltrane started his label, Blue Train Production, as a place for young jazz musicians to experiment. Starting Monday, April 23, Coltrane and Blue Train Production will release a new brass album daily for a week. “Brass Band Week” will take place over the week leading up to and including the first weekend of Jazz [...]
Panorama Brass Band During Mardi Gras: Photos
March 15, 2012 – 1:53 pm
In the days between Krewe du Vieux and Mardi Gras Day, the Panorama Jazz Band takes on other members and transforms into the Panorama Brass Band, a street band variant that performs at parades, concerts, and elsewhere during the Mardi Gras season. Photographer Kate Gegenheimer was with the band throughout the 17 days of Mardi [...]
