It's big news, The Hot 8 Brass Band have been nominated for a Grammy! Their recent album, 'The Life & Times Of...', is up for the 'Best Regional Roots Music Album'. For anyone unfamiliar with the band, the Hot 8 are New Orleans’ premier purveyors of roof raising, jazz infused, funk and hip hop fuelled marching band music, straight from the heart and fresh from the second line parades.
Having appeared in Spike Lee’s original post-Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke, Hot 8 also featured in the follow-up, When the Creek Don’t Rise; and HBO recently included their remarkable story in the hit Treme television series. In addition to their lifelong affinity with their instruments, Hot 8 Brass Band boast a rare depth of vocal talent to illuminate their tales, and ‘The Life And Times Of…’ finds them exploring this further; switching from commanding, funky lead vocals, to rapped verses laid down with passion and skill, to melodic hooks and harmonies – that range from emotive, gravelly baritones through instinctively whooped falsettos – with abandon.
The "Life & Times Of..." was the first installment of a 2 album campaign; the following album, 'Tombstone', is a more reflective record, an emotional tribute to fallen band members and the funeral parades which centres on this music. “These two records will celebrate the times we have had both before and after the storm. Burying our dead and letting their spirits soar, celebrating our city and the lives that our band mates have lived individually and collectively as Hot 8,” explains band leader and tuba player Bennie Pete.
Congratulations to Benny and the whole band!
No comments:
Post a Comment