through the streets of the city

new orleans brass bands

N at i o n a l M u s e u m o f
African American
H i s t o r y a n d C u lt u r e
through the streets of the city
new orleans
brass bands
1. Paul Barbarins Second Line Liberty Brass Band 4:14
(Paul Barbarin / Universal - Two Beat Music, BMI)

2. The Sheik of Araby Treme Brass Band 3:41 (Harry Smith - Francis Wheeler - Ted Snyder)

3. Panama Liberty Brass Band 5:25 (William H. Tyers)

4. Liberty Funeral March Liberty Brass Band 4:52 (Michael G. White / MGW Jazz Publishing, ASCAP)

5. Steamin Blues Hot 8 Brass Band 3:35 (Joseph Williams)

6. We Shall Walk Through the Streets of the City Treme Brass Band 4:12
(Arr. by Treme Brass Band)

7. Keepin It Funky Hot 8 Brass Band 6:43 (Terrell Batiste - Samuel Cyrus)

8. Old Rugged Cross Liberty Brass Band 5:40 (George Bennard)

9. Grazing in the Grass Treme Brass Band 4:45 (Philemon Hou / Cherio Corporation, BMI)

10. New Orleans (After the City) Hot 8 Brass Band 6:48
(Chad Honore - Alvarez Huntley - Hot 8 Brass Band)

11. Give Me My Money Back Treme Brass Band 4:09 (James Andrews / Trombone Shorty Music, BMI)

12. Lily of the Valley Liberty Brass Band 3:23 (William C. Fry - Ira D. Sankey)

13. Shake It and Break It Hot 8 Brass Band 4:32 (Artie Matthews)

14. Amazing Grace Treme Brass Band 3:42 (John Newton)

15. Whoopin Blues Liberty Brass Band 4:02 (John Casimir)

Thisrecording is part of the African American Legacy Recordings

series,co-produced with the Smithsonian National Museum of
African American History and Culture.

SFW CD 40212 2014 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

3
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 Many times in those community parades a frightening
transformation would take place in which notes seemed to leap out
of my clarinet and assume wildly dancing human forms; or Id feel
some second liners key in on me and their movements would suddenly
convert into exciting sounds and phrases that danced through my
instrument. It took several days to come down from the spiritual high
that you got from the second line.
Michael White

5
Through the Streets of the City: New Orleans Brass Bands
Michael G. White

Brass bands are a highly visible part of New Orleans cultureat parades, funerals, in
nightclubs, and at a variety of other events. They are also fixtures at international music
festivals and major concert halls, on recordings, in films, and on television. Despite the
bands widespread popularity, the history, function, and social relevance of these groups
remain largely unknown or misunderstood.

History of the New Orleans Brass Band

To a segment of New Orleans African American population, brass bandrelated activ-
ities have been a vital part of community life for over a century, serving as an important
source of celebration, bonding, strength, pride, and both individual and collective expres-
sion. Although the bands distinctive sound and the contexts in which they are heard
could make them seem to be a completely original local black phenomenon, brass bands,
of course, did not originate in New Orleans and are not exclusive to African Americans.
Even such features commonly associated with this tradition, such as funerals with music,
social clubs, second line dancing, and the use of umbrellas and handkerchiefs, have roots
in other cultures and places.
New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French, and later colonized by the
Spanish. Though the city is a melting pot of several cultures and ethnicities, black creative
involvement in a wide variety of musical activities has been the most important factor
in establishing New Orleans enduring and distinctive musical identity. One musically
6
influential group was the often privileged creoles of color, many of whom during slavery
were free, educated, and financially secure. Numerous creoles received a formal education
in European classical music and became performers, composers, and teachers throughout
the 19th century. From early on New Orleans was the only major city in North America
to maintain a long tradition of authentic and transformed African music and celebration.
Nearly up to the Civil War an open field known as Congo Square was a gathering place
where hundreds of slaves regularly met on Sundays and drummed, danced, and chanted,
in the manner of their homeland. Smaller-scale and private African-style celebrations
continued throughout the city during most of the 19th century, leaving a rich legacy of
transformed African rhythms, dancing, and processions that has had a profound effect on
several New Orleans traditions, like jazz, brass band processions, Mardi Gras Indians,
and local versions of rhythm & blues and other popular music styles.
By the 1830s the earliest brass bands appeared in New Orleansas elsewhereto
accompany army and ethnic militia units, including some made up of free blacks. These
groups played written arrangements of marches, light classical pieces, dirges, and dance
music for parades, balls, funerals, and other events. The citys growing demand for theater
and classical musicians led to an influx of highly trained European professionals, who
also taught music and played in marching bands. The Civil War brought about a great
increase in the number of brass bands, which were used to accompany both Union and
Confederate troops. Many musicians continued to perform in civic bands after the war.
During the last two decades of the 19th century, when the American brass band move-
ment consisted of over 10,000 groups, the largest number of black bands was found in New
Orleans. The citys traditional obsession with music, parades, and dancing, and the rise of
dozens of black benevolent organizations, helped to maintain and support brass band activ-
ities. Popular groups of the 1880s and 90s, such as the Pickwick, Excelsior, and Onward
7
Brass Bands, were known for a high level of musicianship and strict reading of the same
standard stock arrangements used by their white counterparts across the nation.
At some point during the mid- to late 1890s, New Orleans traditional cultural need
for celebration fused with the social intensity of the local black struggle for freedom and
equality in an increasingly repressive post-reconstruction-era climate. The most signifi-
cant result was jazza revolutionary new musical approach characterized by democratic
ideals such as free expression, equal participation, and the blending of diverse musical and
cultural ideas. Largely resulting from a cultural merger between blacks and black creoles,
jazz combined European harmonic concepts and instruments with the call-and-response,
rhythms, bent tones, vibrato, and emotional effects of African American folk music.
Legendary cornetist Charles Buddy Bolden and others were the first to apply a looser,
improvised, and more personal approach to playing marches, blues, hymns, and popular
dance songs. The new style took hold in both smaller dance ensembles and the ten- to
twelve-piece brass bands.
Collective improvisation within specifically defined roles became the typical
approach to New Orleans jazz playing among a growing number of trained readers and
self-taught improvisers. In brass bands this collective improvisation meant several things:
three trumpets maintained the melody (often in harmony); two trombones played rhyth-
mic punctuations and sliding tailgate fills; a clarinet freely danced and sang above the
melody; two lower brass instruments (an alto and a baritone horn) played harmonic and
rhythmic phrases; a sousaphone varied the basic oompah rhythm around the songs
structure; a snare drum played press rolls and accents; and a bass drum carried the syn-
copated New Orleans parade beat that varied accents in unusual places. Saxophones,
which played riffs and harmonies, replaced the lower brass horns by the 1930s. The
competitive nature of jazz and brass bands, coupled with their functional nature and a crit-
8
ical public, led to a highly developed style in which many individual players and groups
became legendary.
Though jazz mainly functioned as dance music, its democratic nature paralleled black
aspirationsmaking it perfectly suitable for progressive-minded social organizations to use
improvising brass bands in community parades as both a means of celebration and a show
of strength and unity. As the popularity of local white brass bands slowly died out in New
Orleans and nationwide, the black New Orleans brass band tradition expanded and fur-
ther developed its distinctive sound through a growing number of players who came from
musical families and neighborhoods, and through continuous sponsorship by social clubs.
The majority of brass band work was in community street processions, in particular
social club parades, (jazz) funerals, and church parades. Dozens of benevolent societies
and groups known as social aid & pleasure clubs sponsored annual anniversary and
holiday parades. Very different from New Orleans better known Eurocentric Mardi Gras
parades, the black social club events consisted of three main parts: divisions of colorfully
dressed social club members, one or more brass bands (attired in standard band uniforms
or black suits and a white cap), and the second linea crowd of up to several thousand
people who follow and dance alongside the parade throughout its several-hour duration.
The free-form second line dance performed by club members and the crowd, both of
whom dance with umbrellas and handkerchiefs, is derived from West African processions.
The intensity that builds from the constant creative interaction between hot music and
improvised dancing often erupts into a euphoric dimension in which a sense of total free-
dom, equality, limitless power, and a spiritual redefining of earthly reality seem to overtake
all of the participants.
The now virtually extinct tradition of church parades was a smaller, shorter, and
more subdued practice. Throughout much of the 20th century it was common for Baptist
9
churches to have Sunday morning processions to celebrate religious holidays, pastors
anniversaries, or the founding of a new church. At these events conservatively dressed
divisions of church members strutted gracefully to brass band musicwhich always con-
sisted of improvised jazz versions of up-tempo hymns like Over in the Glory Land and
When the Saints Go Marching In. My first professional music job was one such parade
in 1975 with Doc Paulins Brass Band. The sound of the sweet music echoing through the
nearly empty streets and the look of sheer pride and joy on the church members faces was
so spiritually fulfilling that even many years later, I would give up good-paying jobs to do
a ten-dollar church parade.
Jazz funerals are among the most curious and well-known New Orleans brass band
customs. Although burial processions with musical accompaniment existed in America
during the 19th century, the particular form and nature of the New Orleans version parallels
the development of jazz. As an exercise of the belief in rejoicing at death, the jazz funeral
juxtaposes grief and joy. Slow, sad hymns and dirges are played en route to the cemetery,
followed by up-tempo songs and joyous second line dancing in a final procession away
from the grave. While musicians funerals have been more widely publicized, the majority
of 20th-century jazz funerals were given for deceased benevolent and social club members.
The number of such clubs began to decline during the Great Depression and later, as more
social services and affordable burial insurance were opened to African Americans.
Several older brass bands continued playing into the first decades of the 20th centu-
ry as newer ones, like Oscar Papa Celestines Tuxedo Brass Band, also found regular work
in community activities. Many legendary and influential musicians who would migrate
from New Orleans by the 1920s and influence the direction of American musicamong
them King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Sidney Bechetgot some of their early training
and experience in street parades and funerals.
10
 During the early 1940s, a revival of outside interest in authentic New Orleans
jazz led to the earliest brass band recordings. Historian William Russells 1945 recording
of Bunk Johnsons Brass Band and jazz writer Rudy Bleshs of the Original Zenith Brass
Band the next year were both made by pick-up groups specially assembled for the record-
ings. The results were issued in limited numbers on small, independent labels. The first
documentation of a true working brass band came in 1951, when college students Alden
Ashforth and David Wyckoff recorded the Eureka Brass Band. Formed in 1920, the
Eureka had been the most popular group and a standard-bearer for decades. Wider expo-
sure of the genre came in 1958 when the major label Atlantic Records released Jazz Begins,
featuring the Young Tuxedo Brass Band.
Clarinetist John Casimir founded the Young Tuxedo in the late 1930s, and the group
remained among the most visible parading bands for over 40 years. Atlantic recorded the
Eureka in 1962. These Eureka and Young Tuxedo recordings of blues, marches, hymns,
and dirges gave the world its first authentic versions of the exciting sounds that had contin-
ued nearly underground in black processions since the early days of jazz. They also reflect
a trendeven among the most conservative groupsof incorporating popular songs of
the day into the traditional style. Among brass band standards the Eureka also recorded
the swing era favorite, Lady Be Good. The Young Tuxedo gave a rousing traditional jazz
version of Shirley and Lees rhythm & blues hit, Feels So Good.
During the early 1960s, local brass bands were showcased as symbols of New
Orleans festive and unique culture as part of a focused effort to make the city a major inter-
national tourist destination. In a rather ironic move for a racially divided city in which black
jazz had often been ignored, Harold Dejans newly formed Olympia Brass Band was pro-
moted as cultural ambassadors for the cityleading to previously unheard-of exposure
and much work over the next two decades at large conventions, business openings, inter-
11
national tours, airport greetings, television commercials, promotional ads, major sports
events, and feature films. As the Olympia became a brand name that defined the brass band
genre, its overwhelming success in the commercial arena set the tone for major stylistic
changes that were to come during the late 1970s and 80s. In the less community-connect-
ed and more economically driven business and tourist arenas, brass bands often became
scaled-down showpieces with flashy colored uniforms, t-shirts, more entertaining behav-
ior, and an increasingly limited repertoire of only the simplest and most familiar songs.
By the 1970s there were only about half a dozen regular brass bands and a few pick-
up groups playing in community and commercial jobs. Older groups like the Eureka had
stopped parading, while others disappeared altogether. The Olympia had become the
most popular band at social club parades and funerals, though the ages of its members
and increasing outside workbegan to limit its appearances on the streets. But as several
brass band veterans died, retired, or settled into less strenuous and more lucrative work,
younger generations came along to fill the void. Many youngsters got their start and early
traditional jazz training in trumpeter Ernest Doc Paulins non-union brass band. Others
began as members of the Fairview Brass Band, a kids group formed by veteran musician
Danny Barker in an effort to teach young people about their jazz heritage.
Since its start in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has presented most
of the citys brass bands in small parades (on the festival grounds) as well as on stages. The
Olympia, Eureka, Young Tuxedo, Onward, and other groups began to adapt the parade
style to stage show and concert formats by adding vocals and featured solos to what had
previously been mainly an all-instrumental and ensemble approach. Now firmly under
the direction of assistant bandleader / trumpeter Milton Batiste, the Olympia began to
play rhythm & blues songs in a style that departed from being predominantly traditional.

12
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Its small-label recordings of Professor Longhairs Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Smokey
Johnsons It Aint My Fault, and the Dixie Cups Iko Ikoall featuring Batistes vocals
became local radio and juke box favorites, as well as new brass band standard songs.
In the mid-1970s young trumpeter Leroy Jones and several other first-generation
Fairview members formed the Hurricane Brass Band, which introduced a new look,
sound, and attitude. As the first truly revolutionary brass band, the Hurricane wore blue
jeans, t-shirts, no band caps, and featured Jones blazing modern jazz solos on top of
riffing horns playing traditional jazz standards and contemporary radio hits like the Nite-
Lighters K-Jee and the Meters Hey Pocky Way. The Hurricane was a popular new
thing in street parades until Jones started on a solo career soon thereafter. In 1977 drum-
mer Benny Jones and several ex-Hurricane members formed the Dirty Dozen, the seminal
group that would forever change the sound, image, and direction of New Orleans brass
bands. The Dozen actually consisted of eight instruments: two trumpets, a trombone,
two saxophones, a sousaphone, a snare drum, and a bass drum. The groups completely
new sound was a modern update that resulted from blending contemporary and tradition-
al jazz, rhythm & blues, funk, Mardi Gras Indian music, and school marching band style.
Faster tempos, catchy melodies, funky riffs, swinging sousaphone lines, and modern jazz-
style solos were hallmarks of the Dirty Dozens playing. The group quickly became pop-
ular among younger generations of social club members and second liners. Its fame soon
spread beyond local street parades to nightclubs, festivals, concert halls, international
tours, and major label recordings. While the Dirty Dozen was known for unique versions
of Lil Liza Jane and Blue Monk, it was even more successful with trademark original
songs such as Blackbird Special and My Feet Cant Fail Me Now.
By the early 1980s the Dirty Dozens success began to keep them on the road, open-
ing the door for new, young, modern-style brass bands to take their place in community
14
parades. There were still a few traditional bands and some older groups that were develop-
ing a more modern style of their own, but in 1982 teenagers Phillip Frazier, his brothers,
and Kermit Ruffins formed the Rebirth Brass Band. Though heavily influenced by the
Dozen, the Rebirth soon created a more laid-back, funky sound that eventually added
influences from the emerging popular rap style. The band composed and recorded a num-
ber of original songs, such as I Feel Like Funkin It Up and Leave That Pipe Alone.
Do Whacha Wanna became a major local hit and has remained a party and Mardi Gras
favorite that has been adopted by school marching bands across the nation. Though the
Rebirth also began a steady touring schedule, it continued to be the most popular and
visible brass band in community parades and funerals for many years. The groups success
culminated in a 2011 Grammy Award for its recording, Rebirth of New Orleansthe first
Grammy ever for a New Orleans brass band.
By the 1990s a resurgence in the number of parading social clubs, an increase in local
tourism, and a renaissance of brass bands led to a flourishing of dozens of new young groups
to play parades, record, tour, and perform at events of every type. While all of todays
younger bands have continued in the funk/rap style pioneered by the Dirty Dozen and
Rebirth bands, several have evolved their own sound and repertoire, including the Soul
Rebels, Coolbone, Hot 8, Lil Rascals, Stooges, Baby Boyz, and To Be Continued brass
bands. The brass band renaissance that began in the 1980s also included other new-type
groups, such as the predominantly white Storyville Stompers and the all-female Pinettes.
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005during which 80% of New Orleans
flooded, untold numbers died, and long-term displacement and misery affected hundreds
of thousandsraised real concerns about the survival of the city and its indigenous cultur-
al traditions. Over nine years later New Orleans remains a wounded city trying to rebuild
and heal. In some ways it can never be the same place as before. The harsh realities of cli-
15
mate change, rising tides, a sinking city, and a future with more severe storms can no longer
be ignored. Even as the citys population and neighborhoods are being re-gentrified, major
social problems like crime, murder, drugs, illiteracy, poverty, and a poor education system
plague the city, with little relief in sight. The traditionally masked long-term racial divide
and economic imbalances continue to roll along like a Carnival parade, with general indif-
ference on all sides.
In spite of all of the problems, the tenacious spirit of citizens who have returned is
boldly evident, as traditional culture has served as an inspiration to many in their efforts
to rebuild and recover. In the months following the storm there was a massive citywide
second line parade in which dozens of clubs, bands, and citizens came togethermany
back for the first timein a show of strength, bonding, and common understanding.
Social club parades, jazz funerals, Mardi Gras Indians, jazz and brass bands are still a vital
part of local life. Today there are over two dozen brass bands and more than three dozen
parading social clubs in the city, so work is not lacking, but the growing number of groups
and competition keep pay relatively low (as has historically been the case for many local
musicians). Some groups like the Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, Hot 8, Stooges, and Soul Rebels
maintain heavy touring schedules in order to make a decent living.
An encouraging development for the future has been the start of programs by the
New Orleans Jazz Historical Park and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation
designed to foster both traditional- and modern-style brass band playing among young-
sters: workshops, a school band competition, the forming of young bands, etc. Several
members of established funk-style groups have reached out to build mentorship-type
relationships with older, more traditionally oriented musicians in an effort to learn about
brass band history and incorporate traditional music into their repertoires. Camaraderie

16
among the various musicians from different generations and stylistic orientations has been
very high during these sessions. There seems to be a great common interest in recognizing
the importance of our musical heritage and sharing it with the world.
In New Orleans, brass bands have always reflected the spirit and needs of the peo-
ple. During the 19th century they served a military function and used music to help lead
soldiers to war in the service of their country. Later in the century they became a source
of pride and visibility for a people attempting to share the freedom and equality promised
by the nations founding principles. When the citys lingering African influences and black
folk music traditions blended with European musical instruments and concepts parallel-
ing the high-intensity struggle for social equality, strictly reading brass bands gradually
became improvising jazz bands. New Orleans jazza voice of freedom and collective
community celebrationremained the dominant form of brass band playing for nearly 80
years. But brass bands both preceded and survived the reign of traditional-style jazz. The
need for self-expression in a changing world that followed the counterculture movement
of the 1960s and 70s contributed to a modern evolution and eventual renaissance of
brass bands. This new approach incorporated a variety of local and popular styles into
a predominantly modern yet still uniquely New Orleans type of functional and commu-
nity-relevant musical expression. The increasingly rare traditional style can still produce
magical exciting moments, but it is uncertain if it will continue to exist in its birthplace in
the next 20 or 30 years.
As in the past, social conditions, education, economics, new musical styles, and the
transitioning city of New Orleans likely will influence the direction and sound of future
brass bands and community parades and funeralssharing their special yet universal
expressions of the human condition with many generations to come.

17
The Bands on This Recording
The groups heard on this recording are representative of three dominant stylistic trends
that coexist on the New Orleans brass band scene today: traditional, funk, and in-between
groups that can be called transitional. The oldest is the Liberty Brass Band, which I
formed in 1985 in an effort to help keep the authentic traditional style alive.

Liberty Brass Band

Dr. Michael White, clarinet / leader; Gregory Stafford, trumpet; Wendell Brunious, trumpet; Dwayne
Burns, trumpet; Lucien Barbarin, trombone; Maynard Chatters, trombone; David Harris, trombone
(track 4); Roger Lewis, alto saxophone; Daniel Farrow, tenor saxophone; Dimitri Smith, sousaphone;
Kerry Lewis, baritone (tracks 1 and 4); Paul Barbarin, snare drum; Cayetano Hingle, bass drum
Never intended to be a parading band, the Liberty was created to perform for festivals,
private functions, and on special occasions. Over the years its membership has includ-
ed veterans of several older bands and descendants of early-generation jazz families.
Trumpeter Gregory Stafford has led the Young Tuxedo Brass Band since the mid-1980s
and is a relative of legendary brass band leader Henry Red Allen. Wendell Brunious
comes from a long line of jazz and brass band players. His father, John Brunious Sr.,
played trumpet on the historic 1958 Young Tuxedo recordings. I am a relative of clari-
netists Willie Joseph, Earl Fouche, and bassist Papa John Joseph. Papa John was among
the earliest black jazz saxophonists when he played in Professor Anthony Holmes Brass
Band of Lutcher in 1914. The most recognizable Liberty members name is that of snare
drummer Paul Barbarin. He, of course, is not the famous Paul Barbarin (18991969) who
composed Bourbon Street Parade, led the Onward Brass Band, and was among the all-
time great jazz drummers. This Paul is his great-great-nephew and son of Libertys Lucien
18
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Barbarin, who is one of the best and most highly sought after trombonists today.
In 1993 the group appeared in the movie Undercover Blues. Three years later the
Liberty members were featured along with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis at the Olympic
Games closing ceremony in Atlanta. The group was a regular act on the French Quarter
Festivals brass band stage for many years. For the last 16 years, the Liberty Brass Band
has closed out Tulane Universitys commencement with a number of second-lining guests
ranging from President Bill Clinton to the Dalai Lama.
Songs recorded by the Liberty are almost all from the traditional repertoire of early
brass bandsnot as an attempt to copy or re-create a past sound, but to continue a style
that was regularly being played and taught to us by active elder veterans during our young-
er years. Though we have continued to play in the traditional style all our lives, we try to
keep the music fresh, creative, and personal.

Treme Brass Band

Benny Jones, snare drum / leader; Kenneth Terry, trumpet, vocals, tambourine; Terrence Taplin,
trombone; Roger Lewis, soprano and baritone saxophones; Bruce Brackman, clarinet; Cedric Wiley,
tenor saxophone; Julius McKee, sousaphone; Michael Hughes, bass drum
The Treme Brass Band is often believed to be todays oldest and most traditional brass
band, but it was actually founded in 1991 by Benny Jones. Jones father was the Onward
Brass Bands great bass drummer, Chester Jones. Benny is an important figure in brass
band history as the founder of both the Treme and Dirty Dozen bands. Preferring to
remain at home in the face of the Dozens growing number of out-of-town jobs, Jones
decided to start a more traditional band because work in that area remained plentiful. His
band is named after one of the oldest black neighborhoods in America, Treme, which
20
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includes the site of Congo Square and has been home to scores of musicians and much
musical activity.
Like the Liberty, the Treme band wears traditional black and white attire with white
band caps. Jones group has comfortably established a balance between performing in
community events and outside, more commercial jobs. The Treme maintains a repertoire
of both traditional and more modern songs that are played in different situations. As the
featured band in the Black Men of Labor Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs annual parade
since 1994, the Treme has been the only traditionally oriented brass band that regularly
appears in social club parades today. When a small club, Donnas, opened on Rampart
Street in the late 1990s advertising itself as the Brass Band Headquarters, Jones Treme
was the first of many groups to regularly perform there.
The Treme Brass Band received widespread recognition as a result of its appear-
ances in Spike Lees 2006 documentary, When the Levees Broke, for Darren Hoffmans
Tradition Is a Temple from 2011, and for several appearances in HBOs television series,
Treme. In 2006 Jones group was presented the prestigious National Endowment for the
Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award. For the last several years the Treme band has
had a regular Wednesday night gig in the Treme neighborhoods Candle Light Lounge,
where it performs to a packed crowd of tourists and locals.
In style and instrumentation, the Treme is reminiscent of the Olympia band of the
1970s. Trumpeter Kenneth Terrys melodic lead, solos, vocals, and uncharacteristic tam-
bourine accompaniment reflect a heavy influence from the Olympias Milton Batiste.
As in the case of the Liberty, the Tremes personnel includes a number of regular
and substitute players. The Dirty Dozens longtime main soloist, Roger Lewis, is heard on
this recording with both the Liberty (on alto saxophone) and the Treme (on soprano and
baritone saxophones) bands. The Treme reflects a wide mix of generations and musical
22
experiences, with members ages ranging between 36 and 72. It is unfortunate that the dap-
per, charismatic, and universally loved bass drummer, Uncle Lionel Batiste, died shortly
before these recordings were made, at the age of 79. The Treme usually performs with the
same eight-member configuration that it has on this recording. The songs recorded here
are typical of those heard during the Tremes regular Candle Light engagements.

Hot 8 Brass Band

Bennie Pete, sousaphone / leader; Raymond Williams, trumpet; Alvarez Huntley, trumpet, vocals;
Terrell Batiste, trumpet; Tyrus Chapman, trombone, vocals; Jerome Jones, trombone; Larry Brown,
trombone; John Gilbert, tenor saxophone; Samuel Cyrus, snare drum; Harry Cook, bass drum, vocals
For over 15 years one of the most popular and visible funk-style brass bands in commu-
nity parades and funerals has been the Hot 8 Brass Band. In 1996 sousaphone player
Bennie Pete was instrumental in merging two former Fortier High School student groups,
the High Steppers and the Looney Tunes Brass Bands, to form the Hot 8. The players grew
up together and maintain strong, family-like bonds and regular membership. Most of them
were born between 1975 and 87 in a generation that grew up hearing mainly modern-style
brass bands in community functions. The band can be larger than many younger groups
often featuring ten members, including three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, bass drum,
and snare drum. As is common among some more modern groups, the Hot 8 uses only one
reed player, original Rebirth tenor saxophonist John Prince Gilbert. Like most of the
younger bands, the Hot 8s funk style is a blend of influences from the Dirty Dozen and
Rebirth, with more elements from contemporary rhythm & blues, rap, and its local varia-
tion, bounce. The uniqueness of their sound is mainly due to a steady stream of creative
original songs and ideas composed or introduced by various band members. Beginning
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with the Dirty Dozen, the sousaphone has had a more prominent role in brass bands as
a feature and solo instrument; it frequently sets up and maintains short rhythmic (often
melodic) grooves that dominate and propel most songs in the band.
The story of the Hot 8 Brass Band has been one of tragedy and triumph. Over the
years the Hot 8s ranks have been decimated by the deaths of four original members due to
street violence and illness. Hurricane Katrina was a life-altering turning point; after being
evacuated, displaced, and scattered across the country, the band regrouped and began
touring the United States to encourage and support other displaced Katrina victims and
promote New Orleans recovery. After also performing abroad, they opened on tour for
popular rhythm & blues singer Lauren Hill for six months. The Hot 8 was featured in two
Spike Lee documentaries, When the Levees Broke (2006) and If God Is Willing and Da
Creek Dont Rise (2010), bringing them a measure of national exposure that has helped to
fuel a steady touring schedule. The band has recorded two of its own CDs and one with the
Blind Boys of Alabama. In 2012 the band put out an autobiographical CD, Life and Times
of the Hot 8, and a music video over the backdrop of a Katrina-damaged city, Ghost Town.
Long-term displacement across the country helped members of the band realize
just how unique and special New Orleans culture is, which in turn inspired their desire
to learn more about the history, sound, and style of earlier brass bands. Hot 8 manager
Lee Arnold and leader Bennie Pete approached me about doing a series of workshops
with the band; we watched videos, listened to recordings, talked, and rehearsed. The
result was a series of concerts in which the band included traditional songs and explored
long-forgotten concepts like three-part trumpet harmonies and volume shifts. A contin-
uous fraternal relationship between the Hot 8 and me has led to some members playing
on traditional gigs. Our early collaborations were re-created in a third season episode of
HBOs television series Treme, in 2012.
25
Track Notes

1. Paul Barbarins Second Line brass bands, the songs suggestive and
rather humorous lyrics are a showcase for
Libe rt y B r a s s B a n d Kenneth Terrys vocal style.
Paul Barbarins Second Line has
remained among the most popular tradi-
tional jazz songs since it was composed
3. Panama
by the legendary drummer in the 1950s. Libert y Brass Ban d
Like some other Liberty songs, this one
This march dates back to 1911 and was
has been influenced by the modern stage
popular among reading bands throughout
presentation style, which can be heard in
the country. In New Orleans it became
the inclusion of solos between the predom-
an improvised jazz standard played by all
inantly ensemble passages.
traditional-style bands. Involved marches
like Panamawith their characteristic
2. The Sheik of Araby introductions, numerous sections, and
changes of keys and volumewere once
Tre m e B r as s B a n d a staple of brass band repertoire but are
rarely heard today.
Originally a Tin Pan Alley hit from the
1920s, inspired by Rudolph Valentinos
film image, this song became a popular
traditional jazz standard. Though it has
not often been played by New Orleans

26
4. Liberty Funeral March neered on the Olympia Brass Bands 1980s
version of Mardi Gras New Orleans.
Libe rt y B r a s s B a n d Steamin Blues and the other two Hot 8
originals heard here are prime examples
This original composition is influenced by of the raw, emotional, rhythm-driven,
the now-extinct practice of loosely playing hip-hop-influenced funk style popular in
dirges from written scores in jazz funerals. most New Orleans second line parades
The intent was to sing out the parts in and funerals today.
the emotional manner of wailing family
members and a mournful crowd praying or
offering condolences. The melody is based 6. We Shall Walk Through the
on variations of the rhythm that forms the
main theme of Chopins Funeral March,
Streets of the City
which is also the standard New Orleans Treme Brass Ban d
brass band bass drum introduction to
dirges and slow hymns. This joyous hymn, which has the same
melody as Red River Valley, has been a
popular standard in social club parades,
5. Steamin Blues church processions, and jazz funerals for
many years. The common use of such tra-
H ot 8 B r as s B a n d
ditional Baptist hymns has been one of the
Steamin Blues was written by Hot 8 main features distinguishing New Orleans
trombonist Joseph Shotgun Williams, jazz from offshoots, like the Chicago style.
who was killed by the New Orleans police Its typical stage-style presentation here
under controversial circumstances in 2004. includes featured solos.
This medium-tempo 12-bar blues is a
funkier, updated version of the style pio-
27
7. Keepin It Funky 9. Grazing in the Grass
H ot 8 B r as s B a n d Tr eme Brass Ban d

Terrell Batiste and Samuel Cyrus wrote Among the Tremes favorite requests is
Keepin It Funky, which is a typical their version of Hugh Masekelas classic
modern, funk-style tune. After being set 1968 pop hit Grazing in the Grass. Here
up by the sousaphone and drums, the song the band mixes elements of the traditional
features a call-and-response vocal before brass band style, modern jazz, rhythm &
melodic horn riffs and laid-back dancing blues, and school marching bands to create
saxophone, trumpet, and trombone solos. a contemporary sound that preceded the
funk- and hip-hop-influenced style of
groups like the Rebirth and Soul Rebels.
8. Old Rugged Cross This very danceable rendition is enhanced
Libe rt y B r a s s B a n d by funky saxophone and trombone solos.

The most common approach to playing

the slow music in jazz funerals for many 10. New Orleans (After the City)
decades has been to give mournful, impro- Hot 8 Br ass Ban d
vised dirge-style renditions of old hymns.
Old Rugged Cross has been among the New Orleans (After the City) was
most popular songs played by tradition- introduced by ex-band member trumpeter
al-style brass bands for decades. Though Chad Honore and Alvarez Huntley and
less commonly heard today, it is still played completed with input from other Hot 8
for musicians funerals most often by members. After an initial sousaphone riff
one large band made up of members from and drum intro, Alvarez Huntley leads a
several groups. rap-style vocal that dominates much of

28
the tune. The song reflects the sentiments
of most locals by expressing pride about
12. Lily of the Valley
being in and from New Orleans, as it men- Libert y Br ass Ban d
tions unique aspects of New Orleans life
Lily of the Valley is an up-tempo hymn
and repeats: We live down by the river
typical of those played in most social club
/ under the lake / below sea level / thats
and church parades, and during the last
where I stay / even though were always
part of jazz funerals. The open spaces in
gone / theres no place like home.
the trumpets melodic line would regularly
elicit a number of improvised responses
11. Give Me My Money Back both from other instruments and the dance
movements of second liners.
Tre m e B r as s B a n d

Among the more modern songs in Tremes

repertoire is Give Me My Money Back.
13. Shake It and Break It
Composed by a well-known Treme resi- Hot 8 Brass Ban d
dent, trumpeter James 12 Andrews, the
Shake It and Break It, virtually the same
song is typical of the early modern brass
song as Weary Blues recorded by Louis
band vocal songs of the 1980s and 90s.
Armstrongs Hot Seven in 1926, has been
After the tuba establishes a groove, the
one of the few traditional jazz standards
band launches into an infectious beat and
in the Hot 8s repertoire over the last
melody line that would inspire even the
several years. Their version here includes
dead to dance the second line. The simple,
a harmonic vocal trio by band members
recurring vocal line is like an accent to the
Harry Cook, Alvarez Huntley, and Tyrus
non-stop, euphoric pulse of the music.
Chapman that is surprisingly reminiscent
of the 1930s Mills Brothers recordings.

29
14. Amazing Grace 15. Whoopin Blues
Tre m e B r as s B a n d Libert y Br ass Ban d

The long-time favorite Amazing Grace This rousing, medium-tempo 12-bar blues
has not been among the standard hymns has been among the favorite songs in street
played by most New Orleans brass bands parades for decades and has been played
throughout the 20th century, despite by all styles of brass bands. Credited to
having a familiar melody and harmonic the Young Tuxedo Brass Bands founder,
structure. The Treme presents the song clarinetist John Casimir, it was among the
here as a reflective, dirge-style tribute to songs on the bands classic 1958 Atlantic
Uncle Lionel Batiste, featuring a mournful label recording. The Libertys version here
clarinet solo. has the typical bluesy break that still elicits
screams of yeah! from audiences and
jumps from second liners at the appropri-
ate moment.

30
31
Further Reading Further Listening
Brothers, Thomas. 2006. Louis Armstrongs (Currently available CD reissues of early and definitive
New Orleans. New York: W. W. Norton & recordings by each group)
Company.
Bunks Brass Band:
Burns, Mick. 2008. Keeping the Beat on the Street: Bunks Brass Band and Dance Band 1945
The New Orleans Brass Band Renaissance. Baton (American Music)
Rouge: LSU Press.
Dejans Olympia Brass Band:
Knowles, Richard. 1996. Fallen Heroes: A History of The Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans (GHB)
New Orleans Brass Bands. New Orleans: Jazzology
Dirty Dozen Brass Band:
Press.
My Feet Cant Fail Me Now (Floating World)
Schafer, William J. 1977. Brass Bands and New Orleans
Eureka Brass Band:
Jazz. Baton Rouge: LSU Press.
New Orleans Funeral & Parade (American Music)
Sublette, Ned. 2008. The World That Made New The Music of New Orleans: Music of the Eureka Brass
Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square. Band (Folkways Records)
Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
Rebirth Brass Band:
White, Michael G. 2010. Dr. Michael White: The Doc I Feel Like Funkin It Up (Rounder)
Paulin Years (197579). Jazz Archivist XXIII:120. Rebirth of New Orleans (Basin Street)
______. 2008. New Orleans African American Young Tuxedo Brass Band:
Musical Traditions, chap. 7 in Seeking Higher Ground: Jazz Begins: Sounds of New Orleans Streets
The Hurricane Katrina Crisis, Race, and Public Policy Funeral and Parade Music of the Young Tuxedo Brass
Reader, ed. Manning Marable and Kristen Clarke, Band (Collectables)
87106. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
______. 2000. The New Orleans Brass Band:
A Cultural Tradition, chap. 3 in Triumph of the
Soul: Cultural and Psychological Aspects of African
American Music, ed. Ferdinand Jones and Arthur
Jones, 6996. Westport, CT: Praeger.

32
Credits About Michael White
Produced by Michael G. White and Daniel E. Sheehy Michael White is a relative of first-generation New
Recorded and mixed by Mark Bingham and Orleans jazz musicians and has been widely acclaimed
Wesley Fontenot as a jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, writer,
Recorded at Piety Street Studio, producer, and historian. He received a PhD in
728 Piety Street, New Orleans, LA 70117 Spanish and taught Spanish and African American
Mastered by Pete Reiniger music at Xavier University, where he currently holds
Annotated by Michael G. White the Charles and Rosa Keller Endowed Chair in the
Photos by Eric Waters, except p. 19 by Gerald Humanities. White has performed and toured inter-
Villavasso and p. 24 by Shawn Colin nationally for over 35 years with numerous bands,
Executive Producers: Daniel E. Sheehy and has made over 60 recordings, and has appeared in
D. A. Sonneborn numerous films and television shows. Many of his
Production manager: Mary Monseur original songs have been included on his Basin Street
Editorial assistance by Carla Borden Records releases since 2000. White has been the
Design and layout by Sonya Cohen Cramer recipient of numerous awards and honors, including
the National Heritage Fellowships Award, Louisiana
Smithsonian Folkways staff: Richard James Burgess,
State Humanist of the Year, and the French Chevalier
associate director for business strategies; Cecille Chen,
royalty manager; Laura Dion, sales and marketing; Toby of Arts and Letters. Dr. White appears courtesy of
Dodds, technology director; Claudia Foronda, customer Basin Street Records.
service; Henri Goodson, financial assistant; Will Griffin,
marketing and sales; Emily Hilliard, fulfillment; Meredith Hot 8 Band appears courtesy of Tru Thoughts
Holmgren, web production and education; David Horgan, Recordings. www.tru-thoughts.com.uk
online marketing; Helen Lindsay, customer service; Keisha
Martin, manufacturing coordinator; Jeff Place, archivist;
Sayem Sharif, director of financial operations; Ronnie
Simpkins, audio specialist; Stephanie Smith, archivist; Atesh
Sonneborn, associate director for programs and acquisitions;
Sandy Wang, web designer; Jonathan Wright, fulfillment.

Special thanks to God and our ancestors, and all the

musicians and others who worked on this recording.

33
About Smithsonian Folkways

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SFW CD 40212 2014 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings