Brass Drum

“This album is a celebration of everything we thought we lost,” says Trombone Shorty. “It’s a celebration of all that we’ve been through and all that we’ve learned along the way. It’s a celebration of New Orleans.” Released twenty years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Crescent City, Second Line Sunday, the new collaboration from Trombone Shorty and New Breed Brass Band, is more than just a party; it’s a reflection on culture and tradition, on family and community, on survival and resilience. The songs here are steeped in the rich history and vibrant social fabric of New Orleans, and the performances are nothing short of ecstatic, fueled by raucous horns and intoxicating rhythms. The sequencing, meanwhile, is carefully curated to transport you into the heart of the action, tracing the emotional arc of a second line parade from its swaggering start to its funky, freewheeling finish. The result is a spiritual experience asmuch as it is an album, a joyous cultural travelogue that showcases some of modern New Orleans’ brightest stars paying homage to the scene that raised them, while at the same time pushing it forward with their own distinctive style and sound.

Among all the many Chandos brass recordings, each release having played a major role in the labels successful history, this one may well be the loudest.

Relentless drums, rumbling tuba, and wailing horns…nothing kicks the party into high gear like a smokin’ brass band! Now you don’t have to trek to New Orleans to catch second-line fever – the Bay Area’s own BRASS MONKEY BRASS BAND (BMBB) brings the infectious energy and funky good times to the West Coast and beyond.

Armed with just a trumpet, two saxophones, a trombone and a drum kit Dakhla Brass have embarked on a magic exploration of the richness of brass music as celebrated around the world. Their distinctive fusion boasts echoes from the deserts of Rajasthan to the souks of North Africa, the carnival parades of the Caribbean and the downtown bars of Louisiana.

Stepping up to the plate with one of the most unique collections of the year is Mexican brass mangler extraordinaire, Borchi. Calling on his compadres, brass band Brass Street Boys, Borchi has re-sampled, twisted and re-imagined each of their instruments into an amalgamation so much greater than the sum of their parts.

There is indeed a spirit that moves through Dave Douglas' first Brass Ecstasy recording: the late Lester Bowie. Bowie's Brass Fantasy group cut a few compelling albums that combined cover versions of all sorts of music – as well as originals – that were arranged for a brass orchestra. The most famous of these, The Great Pretender, is an obvious model for Douglas on this outing. The four brass players include Vincent Chancey on French horn, Luis Bonilla on trombone, Marcus Rojas playing the tuba, and Douglas, of course, on trumpet.

Among all the many Chandos brass recordings, each release having played a major role in the labels successful history, this one may well be the loudest. In the vast acoustic of St Judes Church, London, rendered in surround-sound, and in the largest ensemble format to which it has ever expanded, Onyx Brass, under the energetic direction of John Wilson, brings together four dozen fanfares by fourteen British composers of the past century and a half. Including works by Arnold, Bax, Bliss, Imogen Holst Ketèlbey, and Tippett with numerous premiere recordings, this album is an unmissable celebration of stirring, brilliant, joyous, exciting, varied, sometimes military, and always optimistic music.

Riot Jazz Brass Band return with their 4th studio album, dedicated to what they do best - making people happy!