Celebrating a neighborhood, the food and the Brass Band traditions

9th November 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

The Treme Creole Gumbo Festival celebrates New Orleans 6th Ward neighborhood, a Louisiana signature dish, brass bands and, by chance, the 20th anniversary of the Hot 8 Brass Band. The Hot 8 is among 14 brass bands of all sizes and styles to perform at the free, two-day event (Saturday, November 14, and Sunday, November 15) held at Armstrong Park.

The booking of various groups represents different eras and the evolution of this city’s brass band traditions. Historic names appear on the schedule like the Onward Brass Band that was once led by such luminaries as drummer Paul Barbarin, clarinetist Louis Cottrell and drummer/bassist Placide Adams. For its 3 p.m. set on Saturday the Onward will be led by next-generation trumpeter Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown.

Formed in 1995, the Hot 8 Brass Band has been influenced by those who came before as well as influential to up-and-comers on the streets today. That is reflected on its new album, Vicennial, which includes original tunes that have become staples for the newer bands and traditional classics such as “Royal Garden Blues.”

“The TBC (playing Saturday at 4:15 p.m.), they do all our numbers,” says Hot 8 founder, leader and tuba player Bennie Pete. “Da Truth Brass Band do a lot of our songs – all the younger bands. That’s a big reason you don’t see us on Sundays (at the social aid and pleasure club parades) as much as you used to,” he adds mentioning that the crowd gets to hear their favorite Hot 8 tunes and that the more youthful groups charge less. Besides those factors, The Hot 8 , once a major player at the weekly second lines, has been busy touring. It just got back from an extensive stay in England.

“It’s alright, because the guys need to start somewhere like we did,” says Pete understandably. “We did that with Rebirth. We had to learn all the Rebirth numbers because they were the most popular numbers on the street. Then it was ‘Check this out, here’s some of our music.’ So along came the Hot 8.”

For this celebratory album, the Hot 8 returns to rerecord and remix some of the tunes that put the ensemble on the second line map. It opens with “What’s My Name? (Rock with the Hot 8)” from its first CD. The band once used it as a way of introducing itself and emblazoning its name in the minds of listeners. The tune worked then and it works now.

For the project some of the Hot 8’s former members like trombonist Keith “Wolf” Anderson and trumpeter Shamarr Allen were brought in to mix it up with the current and recently added guys in the group.

“I wanted to give people more insight into what’s going on in the band – what people brought to the group and the importance of the role that they played and will always play,” says Pete. On the very comprehensive liner notes, Pete also offers a further look into the source and soul of each tune.

Pete and bass drummer player Harry “Swamp Thang” Cook stand as the Hot 8’s only original members. That’s why the cover of Vicennial depicts their respective instruments.

In reference to the disc’s unusual name – especially for a New Orleans brass band and to save a trip to the dictionary — the definition of vicennial is “happening once every 20 years.” Pete explains that the reason for the title is they just wanted to come up with a “catchy” name – something “out of the ordinary” – rather than the expected 20th anniversary title.

The Hot 8 has experienced many, too many, tragedies. Three of its members were shot to death – two by thugs and one by the police. They and others who have been lost are deeply remembered on the album.

“‘Rasta Funk’ and ‘Get Up’ always just brings me back,” says Pete with obvious sorrow. “All the songs that remind us – in memorial – of our fallen bandmembers. I know how we made them and I know what they mean to the band and also how the crowd reacts to them. It just takes me all over – sometimes to a joyous spot, sometimes it gets emotional.”

With its reggae groove, “Rasta Funk,” written by the late Joseph “Shotgun Joe” Williams is one of the songs that the Hot 8 turns to when the aim is to calm second liners following a particularly frenzied roll.

“It helps to change the vibe and change the whole groove,” says Pete commenting that cover tunes like “Sexual Healing” and “Just My Imagination” have a similar effect while also appealing to the older crowd.

On the other hand, the late Dinerall Shavers’ hip-hop driven “Get Up” and classics like “Let’s Go Get ‘Em” are purposefully aimed to set the crowd afire.

“Everybody just goes crazy,” Pete exclaims on those hearing those invigorating songs. “You’re either building it up or cooling things down.”

If one listens closely – while dancing and having fun, of course – the passing on of the brass band tradition can be realized at the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival. It might be heard in a trombonist’s particular style or the rhythm of drummer Frank Oxley as he heads the historic Eureka Brass Band. Considering the more modern brass band era, check out the links between the Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass and the influence it’s had on its offshoots like the Hot 8 and further down the road, the TBC Brass Band. They’ll all be at the festival challenging each other – as is the way on the streets – while offering respect to those who came before be it long ago or in their lifetimes.

The lineage remains vital and ongoing.

This article originally published in the November 9, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.