Tuesday, April 26, 2011

NPR: Where The Tuba Lives: 5 New Orleans Songs Featuring The Fat Horn



Kirk Joseph of Dirty Dozen Brass Band on sousaphone.
Kirk Joseph of Dirty Dozen Brass Band on sousaphone.


The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival begins Friday, and music fans from all over the world will flock to the city's racetrack for seven days of music. A lot of things make New Orleans a one-of-a-kind music town, but one is the tuba, the monstrous brass instrument worn like a python squeezing its victim. When jazz began there after WWI, the tuba supplied the rhythmic bottom. As the music spread to Chicago, New York and beyond, the tuba spread with it, but was soon replaced by the more precise double bass. The hard-to-control (but easy to parade with) tuba soon disappeared from jazz almost everywhere, but not in the music's birthplace.

In New Orleans, even today, having a tuba in the band remains standard operating procedure. It's used not only in the city's countless parades (any excuse will do), not only in the trad-jazz outfits that still flourish there, not only in the new-wave brass bands that mix funk and hip-hop into the old carnival parade music, but also in rock bands such as Bonerama and the Anders Osborne Band and in contemporary jazz bands led by John Ellis and Kermit Ruffins.

Most tuba players in New Orleans play the sousaphone, a kind of tuba designed by John Philip Sousa himself to be easier to carry, with a wider bore for warmer sound and a forward-facing bell for better projection. Music sounds different when it's anchored by a sousaphone rather than an acoustic or electric bass. Because it's a wind instrument rather than a string instrument, the tuba gives New Orleans music a bottom that bubbles rather than twangs. Here are five examples of how the tuba makes its mark on the city's music.

5 New Orleans Songs Featuring The Fat Horn

Cover for Big Ol' Box of New Orleans Sampler

Tuba Fats

After the heyday of traditional New Orleans jazz had passed, tuba music was kept alive in New Orleans by Allan Jaffe — who led the aptly named Preservation Hall Jazz Band — by Walter Payton (father of modern jazz star Nicholas) and by Tuba Fats. Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen (1950-2004) played with many of the city's top parade ensembles (the Young Tuxedo, Treme, Olympia and Chosen Few Brass Bands) and he showed the way to the tuba's embrace of funkier, bluesier music. You can hear that in this 1985 version of Professor Longhair's carnival standard, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans."
Cover for Live: Mardi Gras in Montreux

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band


It's hard to overestimate the impact of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on New Orleans music. When a group of young and unknown horn players and marching drummers started playing weekly gigs in the late '70s at Daryl's and the Glass House, they expanded the brass-band repertoire beyond the old warhorses to include everything from James Brown to Thelonious Monk, as well as vigorous originals. They played with a muscular funk that was largely propelled by Kirk Joseph's sousaphone. The band convinced a generation that brass-band music was cool and inspired the Rebirth Brass Band, the Soul Rebels Brass Band, the New Birth Brass Band and dozens more. But none of the younger groups had the jazz chops that the Dozen had, as you can hear in this 1985 medley of Monk's "Blue Monk" and T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday." The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plays the Jazzfest on May 1.

Cover for Feel Like Funkin' It Up

Rebirth Brass Band

The most prominent of the Dirty Dozen's heirs was the Rebirth Brass Band, co-founded in 1982 by three teenagers: trumpeter (and future Treme star) Kermit Ruffins, bass drummer Keith Frazier and tuba player Philip Frazier. They were too young to have sophisticated jazz chops or tastes; they were out to create a distinctive form of New Orleans dance music. They did just that, thanks in large part to the rolling bass lines that rumbled and tumbled out of Frazier's tuba. They summed up their philosophy in this 1989 recording, "Feel Like Funkin' It Up." The Rebirth Brass Band plays the Jazzfest on May 8.
Cover for Bringing It Home

Bonerama

Bonerama gets its name from the fact that four-sevenths of the band are trombonists. But the band's bottom is held down by sousaphonist Matt Perrine, whose ability to play eighth notes and triplets on his unwieldy instrument is showcased here in his 2007 composition, "Bayou Betty." Unlike most of the city's brass bands, Bonerama emphasizes rock 'n' roll over jazz and R&B, giving songs by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles an unexpected Mardi Gras flavor. Bonerama plays the Jazzfest on May 6.

Cover for Ash Wednesday Blues

Anders Osborne

Kirk Joseph, the Dirty Dozen's original tuba player, later played for years with Anders Osborne, the Swedish-born blues singer who settled in New Orleans at age 19 and became one of the city's musical fixtures. With the zeal of a convert, Osborne adopted the local habits, including the use of the tuba to give his blues a percolating feel that one would never hear in nearby Mississippi, much less Sweden. You can hear how he and Joseph feed off each other in this 2001 Osborne original, "Stoned, Drunk and Naked." Osborne plays the Jazzfest on May 1.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Upcoming: JazzFest Night Shows - Backbeat





RECENTLY ANNOUNCED!
Fri 4/29
Break Science: Second Line 3000
feat Big Sam Williams & Khris Royal
@ The Temple
Tix/Info
---------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATED LINEUP!
Fri 5/6
Henry Butler
w/ special guests Doug Wimbish (Living Colour) & Shannon Powell /
Jeff Coffin Mu'tet featuring Futureman

@ 12 Bar Tix/Info
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RECENTLY ANNOUNCED!
Fri 5/6 (technically 5/7)
A Nite Flite with The Nicholas Payton XXX
+ DJ Soul Sister's Midnight Affair

@ Le Petit Theatre Tix/Info
---------------------------------------------------------------

COMPLETE LINEUP!

Sat 5/7 Steve Kimock w/ Henry Butler, Shannon Powell, and Ronald Guerin
Following 7 Walkers
@ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple) Tix/Info
---------------------------------------------------------------

NEW SHOW!

Sat 5/7 (technically 5/8 late night)
BROTHER JOSCEPHUS & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra
@ Blue Nile - Upstairs Tix/Info
---------------------------------------------------------------

NEW SHOW!

Sat 5/7
Bill Kreutzmann, Steve Kimock, Henry Butler & more TBA
@ Le Petit Theatre Tix/Info


ANDERS OSBORNE'S NOLA JAM featuring
Luther Dickinson, Stanton Moore,
Carl Dufrene, Billy Iuso & more /
BONERAMA / THE GUMBOLIANZ featuring Cyril Neville, Johnny Sansone & John Fohl

Friday 4/29
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $30adv $35dos
1 Ticket For All 3 Bands

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An Evening With
THE RADIATORS


Friday 4/29
@ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple)
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $35adv $40dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

THE WOOD BROTHERS feat Oliver Wood &
Chris Wood
(of Medeski Martin & Wood)
w/ Carsie Blanton

Friday 4/29
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $25adv $30dos

(General Admission Seating)

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JOHNNY SKETCH & THE DIRTY NOTES /
MIA BORDERS / SISTER SPARROW & THE DIRTY BIRDS


Friday 4/29
@ 12 Bar
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $15

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MARCO BENEVENTO feat Billy Martin &
Reed Mathis


Friday 4/29
@ Le Petit Theatre (technically 4/30)
1am Doors - 1:30am Show | 18 & Up | $25adv

(General Admission Seating)

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BREAK SCIENCE: SECOND LINE 3000 feat. Big Sam Williams & Khris Royal

Friday 4/29
(technically 4/30) @ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple)
1:30am Doors - 2am Show | 18 & Up | $
15

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WALTER "WOLFMAN" WASHINGTON /
CYRIL NEVILLE & TRIBE 13
followed by Flow Tribe (2am)

Saturday 4/30
@ 12 Bar
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $
20

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ANDERS OSBORNE
with special guest Billy Iuso & more


Saturday 4/30
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $20adv $25dos

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KERMIT RUFFINS & THE BARBECUE SWINGERS 10pm / BIG SAM'S FUNKY NATION 12am

Saturday 4/30
@ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple)
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $35adv $40dos
1 Ticket For Both Bands

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An Evening With
THE RADIATORS


Saturday 4/30
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $52adv $60dos

(General Admission Seating)

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ALO / TEA LEAF GREEN

Saturday 4/30
(technically 5/1) @ Tipitina's - Uptown
1:00am Doors | 18 & Up | $20adv $25dos
1 Ticket For Both Bands

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Reunion Of JON CLEARY & THE ORIGINAL ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN

Saturday 4/30
(technically 5/1) @ Le Petit Theatre
1:00am Doors - 1:30am Show | 18 & Up | $25

(General Admission Seating)

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SHANNON POWELL "King Of Treme" /
GLEN DAVID ANDREWS BAND


Sunday 5/1 @ 12 Bar
8pm Doors - 9pm Show | 18 & Up | $15adv $20dos

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IVAN NEVILLE & FRIENDS

Sunday 5/1
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $25

(General Admission Seating)

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Cyril Neville's NEVILLUTION featuring Charles Neville, Jason Neville, Damien Neville, Omari Neville, Gaynielle Neville, James Andrews & more
w/ special guests The Brassaholics

Thursday 5/5
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
10pm Doors - 10:30pm Show | 18 & Up | $20

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

Cinco De Mayo Party with
THE IGUANAS /
BRIAN STOLTZ & THE I-12 ALLSTARS


Thursday 5/5
@ 12 Bar
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $15

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TOUBAB KREWE / KHRIS ROYAL & DARK MATTER

Thursday 5/5
@ Blue Nile
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $15

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SOUTHERN TROUBADORS feat.Tab Benoit,
Anders Osborne, Grayson Capps,
Devon Allman

Thursday 5/5
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $30adv $35dos
(General Admission Seating)

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

Tab Benoit's SWAMPLAND JAM featuring Devon Allman, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone, Waylon Thibodeaux & more

Friday 5/6
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $25

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HENRY BUTLER w/ special guests Doug Wimbish (Living Colour) & Shannon Powell
JEFF COFFIN MU'TET featuring Futureman


Friday 5/6 @ 12 Bar
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $15adv $20dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND /
ANDERS OSBORNE
w/
Bill Kreutzmann,
Paul Barrere & Fred Tackett
of Little Feat
, Carl Dufrene, Billy Iuso & more


Friday 5/6
@ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple)
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $
25

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

GENE WEEN w/ Dave Dreiwitz
w/ John Michael Rouchell of MyNameIsJohnMichael (solo) w/
special guests

Friday 5/6
@ Blue Nile
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $25adv $30dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

An Intimate Evening With
AARON NEVILLE


Friday 5/6
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $50adv $55dos
(General Admission Seating)

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

A Nite Flite with...
THE
NICHOLAS PAYTON XXX + DJ SOUL SISTER’S MIDNIGHT AFFAIR

Friday 5/6
(technically 5/7) @ Le Petit Theatre
12:30am Doors - 1am Show | 18 & Up | $30adv $35dos
(General Admission Seating)

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

BIG SAM'S FUNKY NATION

Friday 5/6
(technically 5/7) @ Blue Nile
1:30am Doors - 2am Show | 18 & Up | $20adv $25dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

JOHNNY SKETCH & THE DIRTY NOTES

Friday 5/6
(technically 5/7) @ Tipitina's - French Quarter
1:30am Doors - 2am Show | 18 & Up | $15

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

STEVE MOLITZ'S BIG EVERYTHING feat. Steve Molitz (Particle, Phil Lesh), Josh Clark (Tea Leaf Green), Steve Adams (ALO) plus more tba
w/ special guests RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND


Saturday 5/7 @ 12 Bar
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $15adv $20dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

7 WALKERS feat. Bill Kreutzmann,
George Porter Jr., Papa Mali & Matt Hubbard
followed by STEVE KIMOCK w/ Henry Butler, Shannon Powell, and Roland Guerin

Saturday 5/7
@ The Temple (a.k.a. Scottish Rite Temple)
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $32adv $35dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

GENE WEEN w/ Dave Dreiwitz
w/ special guests Alex McMurray

Saturday 5/7
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $25adv $30dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

PAUL BARRERE & FRED TACKETT of LITTLE FEAT (Acoustic Duo)

Saturday 5/7
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $35adv $40dos

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WIMBASH feat. Doug Wimbish, Corey Glover (Living Colour) with Khris Royal & Dark Matter
w/ special guests


Saturday 5/7
@ Blue Nile - Upstairs
10pm Doors - 10:30pm Show | 18 & Up | $15adv $20dos

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

PUNCH BROTHERS feat. Chris Thile
w/ Luke Winslow-King

Saturday 5/7
@ Blue Nile
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $20adv $25dos

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GEORGE PORTER JR. & RUNNIN PARDNERS

Saturday 5/7
(technically 5/8)
@ Tipitina's - French Quarter
1:30am Doors - 2am Show | 18 & Up | $20

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents

ORGONE

Saturday 5/7
(technically 5/8) @ Blue Nile
1:30am Doors - 2am Show | 18 & Up | $20adv $25dos

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BILL KREUTZMANN, STEVE KIMOCK, HENRY BUTLER & special guests

Saturday 5/8
@ Le Petit Theatre
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $29adv $35dos

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FUNKY BUTT REVISITED feat. Big Sam Williams, Doug Wimbish (Living Colour), Marco Benevento, Terence Higgins Warren Haynes Band), Maurice Brown, Roosevelt Collier (Lee Boys) and Topaz

Sunday 5/8
@ Blue Nile
9pm Doors - 10pm Show | 18 & Up | $20adv

backbeatpresentsbackbeatpresents