If you have ever watched "Treme" (the latest much-lauded HBO TV show from the makers of "The Wire") you will have seen the Hot 8 Brass Band in action. It is a fascinating series that documents people returning to post-Katrina New Orleans to pick up the pieces of their lives. Much of the action centres on the lives of the musicians and it vividly portrays just how central music is to the everyday life of the city.
Whether playing in the "second line" New Orleans parades, at a traditional Jazz funeral, or in a crowded bar in the Treme area, the Hot 8 grab our attention because they are so young, so talented and so together musically. Most have been playing in bands since starting High School and their youth means they bring an energy and a "street" / hiphop feel to whatever tunes they play. They do a couple of covers on their new CD: The Specials' "Ghost Town" (very redolent with meaning with post-flood New Orleans in mind) and Basement Jaxx's "Bingo Bango" - and they make both tunes very much their own.
There is a real sense of Joie de Vivre in their music that belies the hard times they have been through. Three founding members died as a result of handgun violence, with one of them killed by the often brutal NOPD with his hands in the air and in possession of little more than a trombone case. Another member was lost to drugs. A third band member gets around in a wheelchair after getting out of one car and into the path of another speeding vehicle. Many of the group struggle with health issues, with youth obesity and diabetes being such epidemic killers in their part of the world, particularly amongst African American working class neighbourhoods
"War Time" struts along, angrily propelled by the heavyweight Sousaphone and Bass Drum, with some wild Jazz saxophone, trumpet and trombone letting rip. But we're having a Party here, with a capital P, so the wild solos always give way to the catchy refrain. This is eminently dance-able music. The hiphop chants in this and "Let Me Do My Thing" illustrate their immense self-belief these days. They are now signed to TruThoughts Records in the UK and are making waves far and wide. There is a touch of the swagger of Funk and Stax Soul about the songs on this CD.
The track I keep coming back to for the Local Global Show is "Steamin' Blues" - a truly riotous piece, swinging along and featuring virtuosic displays by all of the ensemble in the best Jazz traditions but with a thoroughly modern day street-oriented take on proceedings. Further emphasising this, the sleeve is adorned with an array of amazing graffiti artworks created by Banksy in New Orleans after the flood, which cleverly satirise the social issues facing the Hot 8, their neighbours and the other inhabitants of Treme.
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