The Dirty Dozen Brass Band May 24, 2009

The Dirty Dozen has been up for big challenges in the past with its bracing, innovative blend of traditional New Orleans sounds and modern jazz sensibilities. The ensemble has recorded with artists from Dizzy Gillespie (a hero and inspiration) to Elvis Costello, taken on the music of jazz inventor Jelly Roll Morton for the album Jelly and reinterpreted the hymns and parade songs of the Crescent City second-line bands for 2004's 'Funeral For A Friend' (following the death of co-founding member Tuba Fats). They've mixed intriguing approaches to traditional and familiar material, but in a context emphasizing challenging original music composed by the Dozen members themselves. In the course, the band resurrected, revitalized and put distinctly personal stamps on what was a dying tradition of New Orleans brass bands when the group formed in the late !70s, inspiring a full-on revival that's flourished with several new generations of young brass bands each bringing their own twists to the form.