The Hot 8 Brass Band is a

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

styles with traditional

New Orleans brass The New Orleans Brass were a hockey team in the ECHL from 1997 to 2002. The team was at one time affiliated with the San Jose Sharks. Home games were played first at the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium (until October 29, 1999) and then at the N ...

sounds. It was formed by Bennie Pete, Jerome Jones, and Harry Cook in 1995,Brass Band Blowout Weekend: April 11, 2008
from the Tipitina's website the merging of two earlier bands, the Looney Tunes Brass Band and the High Steppers Brass Band. Since June 2007, the band has been signed to the UK's

Tru Thoughts Tru Thoughts is a British independent record label founded in Brighton in 1999 by Robert Luis and Paul Jonas. Since the acclaimed first album release of Bonobo's debut ''Animal Magic'', the label has put out over 200 LPs, across genres from e ...

label, that label's first U.S. act.

Music

The Hot 8 Brass Band plays in second line

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

s hosted Sunday afternoons by Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs; in the New Orleans metropolitan area they also play at traditional

jazz funeral A jazz funeral is a funeral procession accompanied by a brass band, in the tradition of New Orleans, Louisiana. History The term "jazz funeral" was long in use by observers from elsewhere, but was generally disdained as inappropriate by most New ...

sDrummer's Funeral Underlines New Orleans Violence
''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', January 6, 2007. NPR. and at local jazz

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. They play regularly at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and have played in the Zulu Parade,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Zulu Association Festival, the City of New Orleans

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

's Celebration and Mo' Fest, the Tom Joyner

Morning Show Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a lo ...

, and the Master P

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

"Hootie Hoo". The Hot 8 Brass Band has also toured in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In the wake of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, the Hot 8 Brass Band was propelled to wider prominence by an appearance in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's 2006 documentary ''

When the Levees Broke ''When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts'' is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana following the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina. It was filmed in late August and ...

: A Requiem in Four Acts''. Because of this appearance, according to

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, "A new legion of fans caught onto the band's mix of traditional marching music, hip hop, and R&B." In 2009, the band added its New Orleans style to an "

Iko Iko "Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a sin ...

" cover song of the Swiss band Schtärneföifi, who re-recorded their Swiss German version from 1995's ''Heicho – Ohni Znacht is Bed'' together with The Dixie Cups in New Orleans. The song was released on the new album, ''Wältberüemt''.

Membership

Four members of the band have died since its formation. Past and present band members include: * Bennie "Big Peter" Pete (sousaphone and band leader) * Terrell "Burger" Batiste (trumpet) * Harry "Swamp Thang" Cook (bass drum) * Jerome "Baybay" Jones (trombone) * Alvarez "B.I.G. AL" Huntley (trumpet) * Dinerral "Dick" Shavers (snare drum) * Raymond "Dr. Rackle" Williams (trumpet) *Maurice "Moe" Curtis (trumpet) * Keith "Wolf" Anderson (trombone) * Jereau "Cousin" Fournett (trombone) * Wendell "Cliff" Stewart (saxophone) * Demond "Bart" Dorsey (trombone) * Jacob Johnson (trumpet) * Joseph "Shotgun Joe" Williams (trombone) * Gregory "Koon" Veals (trombone) * Derrick Tabb (snare drum)

Discography

In October 2007, the band released '' Rock with The Hot 8'', their first studio album, on the

label. Hot 8 Brass Band was featured on ''

Down in New Orleans ''Down in New Orleans'' is a gospel album by The Blind Boys of Alabama, released in 2008. It won the award for Best Traditional Gospel Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. At the 40th GMA Dove Awards, the album was named the Traditional Gospe ...

'', the 2008 album by the Blind Boys of Alabama. They released their second studio album, '' The Life and Times of the Hot 8 Brass Band'' in November 2012. May 2013 saw the release of "Tombstone," the sister album to "The Life and Times ...," a recording mostly dedicated to former band members, living and dead.

Deaths of group members

The band has also been mentioned in the U.S. media because three of its members, all of whom were between the ages of 17 and 25, have died over the years due to handgun violence. In 1996, 17-year-old

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

player Jacob Johnson was found shot execution-style in his home. In 2004,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

player Joseph "Shotgun Joe" Williams was shot dead by police in controversial circumstances. According to a local news source: :According to New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) accounts, officers were stopping 22-year-old trombonist Joe Williams for driving an allegedly stolen vehicle when Williams slammed the white Ford F-150 into reverse, accelerating into an NOPD squad car and officer. His actions, says Deputy Superintendent Marlin Defillo, caused officers to fear for their lives and thus open fire, killing Williams. The same source reported that several eyewitnesses say that police shot Williams while he was unarmed and his hands were in the air. In 2006,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Dinerral "Dick" Shavers was shot and killed while driving with his family. According to '' The Times-Picayune'': :Dinerral Shavers, 25, died from a gunshot to the back of his head at about 5:30 p.m. while behind the wheel of his black Chevrolet Malibu in the 2200 block of Dumaine Street… His family was not injured… Although critically wounded, Shavers continued driving four blocks up Dumaine before stopping. By 6 p.m., Shavers lay motionless on his back in the middle of the street just outside the open driver's side door… Shavers was taken to a hospital, but died within an hour. Police said the bullet was intended for Shavers's fifteen-year-old stepson. The Hot 8 Brass Band played at Shavers' funeral. Bennie Pete died in September 2021 from complications from sarcoidosis and COVID-19.

References

Bibliography

External links

Hot 8 official siteHot 8 Documentary
* * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1995 Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz ensembles from New Orleans Brass bands from New Orleans 1995 establishments in Louisiana Tru Thoughts artists