Cargo, 31st July

Ever wondered what relevance brass instruments have to 21st century music? Mark Ronson-produced schmaltz aside, one would be hard pushed to find a horn section as fresh-sounding and entertaining as New Orleans’ magnificent Hot 8 Brass Band. Traditionally associated with jazz, Mardi Gras and beer-soaked Sunday afternoons, you could be forgiven for not paying more attention to a band consisting of a tuba, three trumpets, two trombones, a saxophone and a two-man percussion section. However, given a near non-stop touring schedule that has included previous stints in Europe and Japan, Hot 8 must be more than just a run-of-the-mill trad-jazz ensemble. Given that the venues they play are more associated with contemporary rock and electronic music than jazz, something would suggest that the Hot 8 fare is somewhat different. XYZ’s Carlsson went to East London’s premier venue Cargo to investigate.

The first thing you notice about Hot 8 is their sheer stage presence. To say that the band members are characters larger than life is an exercise in diplomacy. Consisting of band leader and tuba player Bennie ‘Big Peter’ Pete; trumpeters Terrell ‘Burger’ Batiste, Alvarez ‘B.I.G. AL’ Huntley and Raymond ‘Dr. Rackle’ Williams; trombonists Jerome ‘Baybay’ Jones and Gregory Veals; saxophonist Wendell ‘Cliff’ Stewart; and the rhythm section of Harry ‘Swamp Thang’ Cook and Samuel ‘Lil Sammy’ Cyrus, Hot 8 are as colourful and enigmatic as their nicknames suggest. Adjectives aside, their performance is what this piece is really all about. And what a performance.

From the first note you are taken aback by the volume and intensity with which they play. In between stabs of brass as loud as a 747 taking off and thumping Dr Dre-like basslines from Bennie Pete’s tuba, the guys rap, sing and talk their way through original material as well as sublime covers, including a must-hear version of Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing. By borrowing themes from early Snoop Dogg hits and other contemporary music of Afro-American origin, the Hot 8 sound becomes unique yet, at the same time, familiar. Their sound is highly infectious and it didn’t take long before Cargo was a heaving mass of smiles and unrestrained dancing. This was a party in full swing, New Orleans style.

When the sweat-soaked crowd finally milled out into the smog-tinted London night, ears ringing and limbs aching, there seemed no doubt that they had radically changed their views on what brass music should, and could, be all about.

 

Words by Carlsson
Photograph by Andrew Brandse