Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Various: New Orleans Brass

240

Various: New Orleans Brass

By

Sign in to view read count
Marching bands are an integral part of New Orleans. Where would a parade be without one, or for that matter a funeral? No matter what the role is, they bring in a special magic and joy.

Music evolves as it imbibes and imbues other genres. Marching bands were no exception, as they pulled in different sounds including rhythm and blues and funk as well as gospel, which served them well. This sampler dovetails on the heritage and the influences and comes up trumps.

The CD starts off appropriately enough with "Bourbon Street Parade, featuring brothers James and Troy Andrews. The song is a blistering march, with James singing in the style of Louis Armstrong, even imitating the gravel voice. Troy, who plays the trombone, generates a lot of heat but the whole band comes together to make the listener salivate for more. Troy returns on "Dreamboat with trumpeter Lionel Ferbos. The two complement each other playing with a vivid imagination and lithe verve. Listening to them is pure delight.

Kermit Ruffins (trumpet and vocals) takes a high-spirited romp on "Treme Second Line (Blow Da Whistle). The basic theme is a march, but Ruffins and his band show an inventive dexterity as they pull out all the stops with pithy inventions and a well-honed swing.

Glen Andrews and the Lazy Six take the gospel song "Over in the Gloryland and bake it in the sunshine of a march beat. This has everything going for it: a snare drum that drives forward, a bass that reinvents the word supple, snaking keyboards and Andrews who plays the trombone both smooth and greasy and sings all sweaty and hot. This trip is certainly an exultant one.

The enhanced CD has a video for "Do They Play Jazz in Heaven, by singer Ingrid Lucia with Irvin Mayfield and The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. The video offers a travelogue of New Orleans, in which the band serves up another tasty musical tidbit and a jolly good finale.

Track Listing

Bourbon Street Parade; Blow, Blow Tenor; Whoopin

Personnel

James Andrews: vocals; The Yockamo All-Stars; Leroy Jones; John Boutt

Album information

Title: New Orleans Brass | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Putumayo World Music

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New Orleans
Jazz Near New Orleans
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.