Funk Brass

2020 sees Hypnotic Brass Ensemble celebrating twenty years together not only as a band, but a Band of Brothers and they are marking this anniversary with the launch of their sixth studio album Bad Boys of Jazz, which sees them seamlessly weave funk, dub, hip-hop and soul into their own irrepressible take on jazz. They draw deep from the well of tradition while taking the pulse of the most cutting-edge and street-savvy sounds.

Rewind back to Gateshead in 2008 - the producer Smoove is round his friend and keyboard player - Mike Porter's house. Together they are working on tracks for his project and all of a sudden they hear a heavenly voice from the neighbour. Transfixed by the vocals that are caressing their ears they go and investigate to find a youthful John Turrell doing his thing at a practice with a local band he played with when he wasn't teaching carpentry at the local college. Together they woo him with their Geordie charms and the initial line up of 'Smoove & Turrell' is born. The group instantly gel and soon after have penned the killer track 'I Can't Give You Up'…

Rewind back to Gateshead in 2008 - the producer Smoove is round his friend and keyboard player - Mike Porter's house. Together they are working on tracks for his project and all of a sudden they hear a heavenly voice from the neighbour. Transfixed by the vocals that are caressing their ears they go and investigate to find a youthful John Turrell doing his thing at a practice with a local band he played with when he wasn't teaching carpentry at the local college. Together they woo him with their Geordie charms and the initial line up of 'Smoove & Turrell' is born. The group instantly gel and soon after have penned the killer track 'I Can't Give You Up'…

The best of the Brooklyn based funk band formed by Randy Mueller in 1968 as Dynamic Soul. It wasn't until 1975 when the group recorded their first album changed their name to Brass Construction. That album helped change the sound of dance music and began their ascent on both the pop and R&B charts in a career that extended well into the next decade. With hits like "Movin'", "Changin'", "Wake Up" and "Ha Cha Cha (Funktion)", the band certainly made their mark on the world of popular music.

In New Orleans in 1977, the Original Sixth Ward Dirty Dozen band was born in the city's Treme neighborhood. Coming out of the 100-plus-year tradition of the local social club scene – in this case, the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club – they started rehearsing with no other goal than playing in the club. Eventually renaming themselves the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, they played for years before they began performing steady gigs at a Seventh Ward night spot and later at another uptown club. The DDBB built an enormous repertoire, and in the process innovated on the brass brand tradition, which was flagging very badly at the time. They incorporated funk, bebop, and more into their sound. The DDBB started a renaissance; they influenced every brass band that came after them. Twenty Dozen, produced by Scott Billington, is their twelfth album.