Export Nola: APAP Showcases

Upcoming: Soul Rebels @ Brooklyn Bowl (3 nights!)

The Soul Rebels

with Special Guests

Thu, February 14-16 2013

 

 

The SOUL REBELS formed when Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, originally members of New Orleans’ iconic Dejean’s Young Olympia Brass Band, decided they wanted to play the new, exciting music they were hearing on the radio while respecting the tradition they loved. Both New Orleans natives, the pair was steeped in the fundamentals of New Orleans jazz, but inevitably, contemporary styles of music began to seep into their psyches. While LeBlanc attended the famed St. Augustine High School, Moss went to Lil’ Wayne’s alma mater McMain High School, and paraded alongside soon-to-be Cash Money Records CEO Ronald “Slim” Williams in the school’s marching band. New sounds were all around and they found them as exciting as the horn-combo style featured in jazz funerals since the turn of the Twentieth Century.

“We wanted to make our own sound without disrespecting the brass tradition,” LeBlanc recalls, “so we knew we had to break away.” They found a stylistic middle ground when they spun off and formed a band of young, like-minded local players from all over New Orleans. Graduates of university music programs throughout the South, the band took the marching band format they had learned in school and incorporated influences from outside the city as well as late-breaking local styles – R&B, funk and hip-hop – especially through half-sung, half-rapped lyrics. “Most of our originals have vocals,” says LeBlanc. “You wouldn’t have done that in a traditional brass band.”

Soon, the Soul Rebels’ contagious originals and updated takes on standards won them a loyal local audience. They began rocking some of New Orleans’ most beloved live music venues. A chance gig opening for the Neville Brothers got them a real start—and an official name. It was youngest brother Cyril Neville who first called them “Soul Rebels,” a good name for a band that strived to incite positive change in its treasured musical heritage. Since those days, the band has settled on an eight-piece lineup, building a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in the party-like atmosphere of a dance club. Their weekly show at Uptown New Orleans spot Le Bon Temps Roulé has been known to descend into a sweaty shout-along as the band mixes up songs from its five studio albums with hits by Jay-Z and OutKast.

While touring the U.S., the Soul Rebels have shared the stage with notable artists from many corners of the pop and jazz worlds, including Arcade Fire, The Roots, Bootsy Collins, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Counting Crows, Green Day, Drive By Truckers, James Brown, Roy Hargrove, Allen Toussaint, Chuck Brown, Terence Blanchard, The Gap Band, Better than Ezra and many more. Averaging around 250 shows per year, the Soul Rebels have brought the party to stages as far away as South Africa and Europe, playing some of the world’s best-known music events, including, Umbria Jazz Fest, Antibes Jazz Festival, The Montreal Jazz festival, Bonnaroo, the Wanee Festival and, of course, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

When Hurricane Katrina struck their hometown in 2005, the band scattered across the region. Though a few members relocated to cities in Texas, the band frequently reconvened for gigs in New Orleans, this time with a renewed purpose. “Music has been the number one vehicle for Katrina recovery,” says LeBlanc. “That catastrophe has brought so much world wide attention to our music.”

Indeed, since the storm, the band has been more successful than ever serving as an international ambassador of the New Orleans sound. Now a hardcore touring band with a solid-as-ever lineup, the band has recently represented its hometown on television, appearing in the season finale of the HBO series Treme, the Discovery Channel hit After the Catch, and the NBC broadcast of the parade before the Saints’ winning 2010 Super Bowl.

In January of 2012, the band will finally release its first international album, Unlock Your Mind, on Rounder Records. This new song-driven studio effort includes guest appearances by Cyril Neville, Trombone Shorty and Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli. The album was produced by Rounder VP of A&R Scott Billington, who was also at the helm of many of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s groundbreaking albums.

The Soul Rebels continue charting new territory today. Called “the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong” by the Village Voice, the Soul Rebels combine top notch musicianship and songs with grooves that celebrate life in time-honored New Orleans style.

In Pictures: Big Sam's Funky Nation @ le poisson rouge

photos by Dino Perrucci

Christian Scott & Eric Krasno - Le Poisson Rogue, NYC 2/5/11



Big Sam's Funky Nation - Le Poisson Rogue, NYC 2/5/11


Big Sam's Funky Nation w/Christian Scott - Le Poisson Rogue, NYC 2/5/11


Big Sam's Funky Nation w/Maurice Brown - Le Poisson Rogue, NYC 2/5/11

More Pictures from Export NOLA

photos by Dino Perrucci

Matt Perrine & Alex McMurray - The Bitter End, NYC 1/7/11

Amanda Shaw & Walter "Wolfman" Washington - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11



Joe Krown Trio - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Russell Batiste - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Tin Men - The Bitter End, NYC 1/7/11


Honey Island Swamp Band w/Washboard Chaz - The Bitter End, NYC 1/7/11


Maurice Brown - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Khris Royal - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Amanda Shaw - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Grayson Capps - The Bitter End, NYC 1/7/11


Jamie McLean Band - The Bitter End, NYC 1/7/11


Mia Borders - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/7/11


Henry Butler - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/9/11



Henry Butler - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/9/11




Sasha Masakowski - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/9/11


DJ Logic & Maurice Brown - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/12/11

More from last night:


John Gros - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/12/11


Henry Butler & John Gros - Sullivan Hall, NYC 1/12/11

In Pictures: Bonerama @ Sullivan Hall

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Bonerama - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/19/10


Mark Mullins & Jon Batiste - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/19/10


Bonerama w/Steve Kimock - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/19/10


Bonerama w/Maurice Brown - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/19/10

In Pictures: Maurice Brown @ Blue Note

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Maurice Brown - The Blue Note, NYC 7/5/10


Maurice Brown - The Blue Note, NYC 7/5/10


Maurice Brown & Chelsea Baratz - The Blue Note, NYC 7/5/10


Maurice Brown - The Blue Note, NYC 7/5/10

In Pictures: Rebirth Brass Band & Dumpstaphunk @ Highline Ballroom

Watch Michael Jurick's slideshow HERE.

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Keith & Phil Frazier - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10



Rebirth Brass Band - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10



Rebirth Brass Band - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10


Rebirth Brass Band - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10


Maurice Brown w/Dumpstaphunk - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10




Dumpstaphunk - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/1/10

Maurice Brown Album Release Party Tonight @ Jazz Standard

Papa Mali's Supernatural Ball | 02.10 | NOLA

c/o Jambase

Words & Images by: Jeffrey P. Dupuis

Papa Mali :: 02.10 :: New Orleans

Living in a place like New Orleans, the past is not really the past. The musical influence of people like Louis Armstrong and Professor Longhair is as palpable as the humidity. People talk about 'Fess as if he just played last week; The Meters aren't seen as an historical reference in NOLA funk, but as one of the building blocks of the NOLA vibe. For better or worse, the present is just an extension of our past that happens to be going on today. I get very excited when something reaches out from someone else's past to resonate strongly in the now. This was one of those nights when musical history reached out and smacked me on the back of the head, as if to say, "You need to know about this, sucka."

For his annual "Supernatural Ball" Papa Mali (guitar, vocals) tapped George Porter Jr. (bass, vocals), Nigel Hall (keys, vocals) and Adam Deitch (drums) to be the house band (Eric Krasno was snowed-in). I cannot say enough about the energy and excitement that Deitch and Hall have been bringing into their collaborations with NOLA musicians. The night was billed as a musical exploration of Donny Hathaway's Live and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys.

Walking into Tipitina's is like walking into a small neighborhood bar where you know everyone, only it's not that small and happens to be one of the most revered music clubs in the world - with good reason. I like to tell people that I got my education in college but my real schooling occurred at Tip's.

On this night I was greeted by the sounds of solo piano pouring off the stage. With no billing, I inquired as to who was playing and found out that it was Josh Charles, a New York pianist, who held his own through original material as well as great covers of Professor Longhair, whose visage hangs in tribute over the stage. DJ and sax mash up Jermaine Quiz Entourage kept the party rolling through set change. The Soul Rebels Brass Band followed and were able to work the light crowd into a heated dance party, though more and more people joined as the night progressed. The band is in rare form these days, following the recording of a new album that seems to have energized them.

Papa Mali's Supernatural Ball :: 02.10 :: New Orleans

Moving on to the main event, I will publicly admit my ignorance of Hathaway's influence, so when I started digging I was amazed at the connections. Like being brought to bluegrass many years ago through Garcia's Old & In The Way, the band's musical journey pushed me to dig deeper into Hathaway after the show. And isn't that the point in some ways? Throughout the first set, Nigel Hall's soulful voice led the exploration though selections from Hathaway's Live album. Joined at times by the Dirty Dozen's Efrem Towns on trumpet, highlights included a wonderful version of "The Ghetto," a crowd-riling "You've Got a Friend" and a beautiful duet with George Porter Jr. on "Jealous Guy." A funkified "Everything Is Everything" closed the set.

Drinking my way through college as a guitarist, I was well aware of Hendrix's Band of Gypsys and was curious how the band would handle the material. Papa Mali's soulful guitar playing would be more-than-able to carry the lead lines, but that would have been too easy. Rather than make the second set a single-guitar fest, the band rotated in guest guitarists from NOLA, with Billy Iuso, Andrew Block and Matt Grondin each providing a different voice to the mix. In addition, a powerful horn section drove the tunes into new directions. The horn filled interpretations pushed boundaries and visited new spaces I never imagined with Hendrix.

Following the Hendrix selections, the band slipped into a few NOLA standards, including "Welcome to New Orleans," to round out the evening. Filled with both local and traveling music fanatics from all corners in for Mardi Gras, the Supernatural Ball will most likely be judged as one of the best sleeper shows of this Mardi Gras season.

Deitch, Hall, Porter Jr., Mali

Adam Deitch

Adam Deitch

Nigel Hall

Nigel Hall

Nigel Hall & George Porter Jr.

Ed Lee - Soul Rebels Brass Band

Maurice Brown

Marcus Hubbard - Soul Rebels Brass Band

George Porter Jr.

George Porter Jr.

Soul Rebels Brass Band

Soul Rebels Brass Band

Papa Mali