SOUL REBELS BRASS BAND | 4.14 | NOLA

Brass band music is unique to New Orleans. While you may find the occasional brass band in other cities throughout the country (and the world), New Orleans is where the brass band was created, and on any given night, there's at least a brass band or two playing in the clubs. And the music is popular down here, always drawing packed crowds to dance and sing till late in the evening (or early in the morning). While brass band music has been around for many years, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was the first band to modernize this music form (over twenty years ago), and incorporate funkier beats and covers of popular songs into the traditional marches and jazz standards of the traditional brass bands.

Today, in addition to numerous traditional brass bands, there are a number of modern bands, including the Rebirth Brass Band, the Newbirth Brass Band, the Nightcrawlers, and Coolbone. All of these bands offer a modern interpretation of brass band music, helping the genre constantly evolve as it incorporates a wide range of modern music styles. Another good example of the modern brass band is The Soul Rebels Brass Band, who has been recently playing shows with a DJ sitting in and augmenting the music with the subtle textures of scratches and samples.

Saturday night the Soul Rebels were playing at the Dragon's Den, one of the best music clubs in New Orleans. Located right on the edge of the French Quarter, between the Quarter and Frenchman street, the Dragon's Den offers a diverse array of music seven nights a week. The club itself is located above the Siam Cafe, a Thai restaurant, and you can order Thai food from downstairs to enjoy while listening to the live music. With a capacity of only a couple hundred, the Dragon's Den is a great intimate music club with much character and charm. The room seems to have previously been the upstairs of a house and is divided into three sections: the bar, the stage area/dance floor and a final room with tables (many of which are on the floor) to eat or drink at. While the layout of the club is unlike any you've every seen it gives the club a great vibe. Adding to the laid back and funky vibe are the red walls (with large antique mirrors) and red lighting.

What makes brass band music unique and easily identifiable is the rhythm section combination of bass drum, snare drum and tuba. It's the thump of the bass, the snap of the snare, and the short, punchy notes from the tuba that propels the brass band sound. In a good brass band, these three musicians lock together and form a bouncy, steady beat over which the front line horns (in the Soul Rebels, a saxophone, trombone and two trumpets) play and solo. It is great to just focus on (and groove to) a brass band rhythm section--these three musicians are enough to keep you moving all night.

After opening up with a slower song, to ease the audience into the frantic, loose playing that would follow, the band launched into the chant: "hey hey, ho ho, the rebels got the soul, whoa-oh" which was enthusiastically echoed by the audience. This type of audience call-and-response is often used by brass bands, and is reminiscent of the types of chants that George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic made popular in the seventies. The first set lasted about 50 minutes and featured non-stop playing as the band segued from one song into another--always lead by their tight rhythm section. Not afraid to tackle classic big-band jazz as well as the occasional cheezy pop song, the Soul Rebels tore through a brassy version of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" while earlier in the set throwing a few bars of (and the chorus of) Wham's "Careless Whisper" into one of their songs. It's difficult to describe why, but brass bands can make virtually any song sound good. Even if you aren't a fan of the early 90's dance band Snap, it's pretty tough not to dance along to the Soul Rebels version of "The Power."

After a well deserved break, the band (and the crowd) returned to the dance floor for the second set. There was no way that anyone could have been prepared for this rowdy, loose, and energetic set. For 50 minutes the band jumped from upbeat song to upbeat song, never letting up. There is not much of a stage at the Dragon's Den -- the band just sets up at one end of the dance floor. This allows the energy to flow from the band right into the audience, and then back to the band. People sang, people danced, hands waived in the air. The audience wasn't really watching the band--they were joining the band in this great celebration of New Orleans music. Further blurring the line between the audience and the band, the tuba and trombone players walked into the audience and around the club--the band was literally surrounding the audience. The energy of the band and the crowd was like no other I've ever witnessed. The end of the set almost came as a relief. It would be almost impossible to keep up this type of energy for much longer than an hour. After dancing and singing for 50 minutes straight, the band and the audience were understandably exhausted. It was 2 am, and time for the band to take another break. But, they would be back, to play the third and final set until close to 4 in the morning.

If you are visiting New Orleans, go see some brass band music. Many clubs in the city frequently feature brass band music including the Dragon's Den, the Maple Leaf, the Mermaid Lounge, el Matador, Donna's Bar and Grill and Tipitina's. You can rarely see this type of music elsewhere in the country, and after spending a few hours in a club watching a brass band, you will come to appreciate what the power and energy of New Orleans music is all about.

Josh Carver
JamBase New Orleans Correspondent
Go See Live Brass Bands!