Dirty Dozen Brass Band – Twenty Dozen

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Dirty Dozen Brass Band – “Jook”
Twenty Dozen

Today we look at the brand new release from Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Twenty Dozen is their latest record on Savoy Jazz. This album marks the 35th anniversary of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Back in 1977, the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began featuring a traditional Crescent City brass band. Social and pleasure clubs date back over a century to a time when impoverished Southerners couldn’t afford life insurance. These clubs would make proper funeral arrangements and provide a brass band to follow the funeral procession. The band would play somber dirges and when the family of the deceased would be out of earshot, they would bust into uplifting dance tunes, driving the audience into a frenzy. By the late 1970s few of these clubs or bands still existed so the house band for the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to become a full-time effort and took the name of the club, dubbing themselves the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Today brass bands are on the rise again, thanks in no small part to the hard work done by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The group has played in as many as 30 different countries across five continents, from baseball games to festivals. They have been featured guests on albums by artists including David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Dr. John and the Black Crowes. Twenty Dozen delivers more incredible brass band music with a nod to Caribbean music, reggae, and Afrobeat. Saxophonists Roger Lewis and Kevin Harris, trumpeters Gregory Davis and Efrem Towns, and the sousaphone player Kirk Joseph are five of the original seven band members, which make up the incredible front line of the group. Twenty Dozen shows how brass band music has evolved over time. While keeping the best parts of New Orleans traditional sounds, Dirty Dozen Brass Band mixes many styles together to create music that will have you dancing around the room in no time. For a taste, listen to “Jook” above and see if you can sit still. Pick up Twenty Dozen today and take a look at Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s tour dates to see when they are coming to your area.