Brass Blues
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Brass Blues is blues played through brass-band instrumentation: trumpet or cornet lead, trombone smears, clarinet or sax countermelodies, sousaphone or tuba bass, snare and bass drum, and collective improvisation. It often turns blues themes into street music, with bent horn notes, tailgate glissandi, funeral-march gravity, and second-line release.
History
The style grew from New Orleans brass bands, early jazz, social-aid-and-pleasure-club parades, funeral processions, and blues repertory carried in street performance. King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Bunk Johnson, Eureka Brass Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Rebirth Brass Band show its long arc from early jazz-blues to modern brass-band funk. Brass Blues influenced swing, New Orleans R&B, second-line blues, brass-band revival, and contemporary festival music worldwide.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Dippermouth Blues — King OliverSpotifyYouTube
- West End Blues — Louis ArmstrongSpotifyYouTube
- Ory's Creole Trombone — Kid OrySpotifyYouTube
- Careless Love — Bunk JohnsonSpotifyYouTube
- Just a Closer Walk with Thee — Eureka Brass BandSpotifyYouTube
- St. James Infirmary — Preservation Hall Jazz BandSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Samuel Charters, Jazz: New Orleans
- Matt Sakakeeny, Roll With It
- Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz
- AllMusic