Hot 8 Brass Band is On the Spot
5th June 2017 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
“It’s the street that inspired us so one of our main goals is to capture that feeling,” says the Hot 8 Brass Band tuba player and leader Bennie Pete of the group’s latest album, On the Spot (TruThoughts). A studio recording that definitely jumps with a live, second line feel, it stands as the follow-up to the band’s 20th anniversary album, 2015’s Vicennial: 20 Years of the Hot 8 Brass Band and on the heels of its Grammy nominated recording, 2013’s The Life and Times of the Hot 8 Brass Band. The ensemble will be celebrating the new album at the House of Blues on Saturday, June 10, and offering a preview of what’s to come with an appearance on June 9 on WWL-TV’s “Eyewitness Morning News.” The Hot 8, whose home base is Sundays at the Howlin’ Wolf, has previously performed at the House of Blues though this show marks its debut headlining at the Decatur Street club. DJ Soul Sister will spin some old-school vinyl to open and Keedy Black will add a little bounce to the house.
HOT 8 BRASS BAND
While this tune and others like “Get It How You Live,” revel in the openness of the genre and good-timing party atmosphere, the horn arrangements tell a different story — one of hard work and musical integrity.
“Raymond Williams has a lot to say about that,” offers Pete of the talented trumpeter and arranger who’s been with the band since 2001. Often, Pete adds, the members of the band all have a hand in arranging. “We sit down and bang it out until we’re satisfied,” he explains.
It’s important to note that the seemingly, free-wheelin’ Hot 8 Brass Band, which was formed in 1995 with Pete and bass drummer Harry Cook the only two original members, not only practices regularly but the guys miss the sessions when, because the group is frequently traveling, they can’t rehearse.
“We practice about twice a week when we’re home but only get to sneak a little rehearsal in at sound checks when we’re on the road,” Pete says. “That’s the one thing we love about being home is that we rehearse — we keep our chops up. It gives us extra confidence. Bottom line is that we want our shows to be natural and (by rehearsing) we can definitely free up.”
Strong hooks, as on the instrumental “Bottom of the Bucket,” are go-tos for the Hot 8. “That’s Harry hollerin’ out,” says Pete of the tune that includes the congas of guest Alfred “Uganda” Roberts. The band also knows the allure of songs that include call and response segments — both vocally and instrumentally — that abound on the album, fuel second lines and lift audiences. “It’s kind of like us checking in on the crowd and making sure they’re with us,” Pete explains. “It lights the fire and gives that extra boost.”
“We were at a parade and we were at the break and nobody wanted us to stop playing,” Pete remembers. “So we kinda stopped but the bottle and cow bell beaters kept going. The band members usually disperse to get a beverage or whatever but the crowd didn’t open up and they kind of kept us in the street and we kept working that song out.”
It’s been suggestions from folk on the “lines” that have helped round out the Hot 8’s play list with popular songs. “Someone might come up and say something like I’ve been listening to this tune by Marvin Gaye or Luther Vandross and I think it would sound nice if you would play it. The next week we’d be on the street doing it.” On the Spot includes several, originally arranged covers including Stevie Wonder’s “That Girl” which features some modern blowing by saxophonist Drew Calhoun.
“The saxophone is essential,” Pete offers. “It gives the music that soft feminine touch. It takes the edge off that bold barbaric brass. We’re brass-heavy, that’s why our theme is, ‘We brass hard.’”
A pure trumpet emotionally opens the slow dirge tempo of the album’s only traditional number, “St. James Infirmary.” Clarinetist Dr. Michael White, a keeper of the classic jazz flame, steps in to offer a new tonality and flavor. White and the band got tight following Hurricane Katrina when the Hot 8 had a residency at the Sound Café.
“We got to know each other and we reached out to him and he had open arms for helping us out with the traditions,” says Pete, explaining that they enjoyed long conversations not just about the songs but about the knowledge and understanding of the music and the whole culture and the struggles the musicians went through.
The struggles, of course, continue. Like so many musicians, Pete has found that the Hot 8 is more appreciated overseas or on the road than it is in its hometown. For instance, two months ago it headlined a show at London’s Roundhouse Theater, a 3,000-seat venue that was sold out two months previous to the performance. The band has also toured with the renowned vocalists Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. “We went from being Lauryn’s opening act to becoming her horn section,” Pete declares. Notably, the Hot 8 was selected to be included on the compilation album New Orleans Brass Bands – Through the Streets of the City on the prestigious Smithsonian Folkways label.
Those local folks rollin’ on a second line or jumpin’ at the Hot 8 Brass Band’s hometown gigs might not be aware of all of the group’s accomplishments. They do know that the Hot 8 Brass Band is family and that it plays from the heart and On the Spot.
This article originally published in the June 5, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
