Barcelona Jazz Fest Review: Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Although the beginnings of jazz are commonly presented as rooted in church gospel and the soundtracks to the bawdy, New Orleans houses of a century ago, in The History of Jazz music historian Ted Gioia refers to the origins of jazz remarking "the birth of this music would have been unthinkable without the extraordinary local passion for brass bands." He goes on to explain that "the role of these groups was especially important in New Orleans, where brass bands played not only for Sunday afternoon concerts in the village square, as happened in many communities, but for almost every type of social event."

Nowadays, the sound of New Orleans brass bands might be familiar only to audiences of HBO's series Treme. In its soundtrack, among many legendary artists, there was a place for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Born in the revival of brass bands in the late 1970s USA, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band stood out with a very specific and compact musical proposal that included elements of funk, hip-hop and jazz bop, drawing on not only tradition but also the sheer energy brass instruments can impart on the syncopated rhythms of black music.

DDBB doesn't just stay faithful to its jazz origins, it is even more faithful to the tradition of street music, and by that I don't mean the streets of Louisiana at the end of the 19th century. Evolving from its rich DNA, DDBB’s sound is fiercely contemporary. That sound arrived at Sala Razzmatazz in Barcelona when DDBB visited our city in the Spanish leg of its European tour, with a show incorporated into the lineup of the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival.

The sound of brass instruments was so intense and compelling that it could be heard with the whole body; from the get-go the band was determined to make the crowd move. So, sharply at 21:00 the rhythm of 1991 song ‘Charlie Dozen,’ engaged a beat machine that would not stop for 90 minutes. ‘Charlie Dozen’ was followed by ‘My Feet Can't Fail Me Now’ and, by then, feet indeed did not fail to an audience that had already surrendered to the call for dance and fun.

The repertoire of the concert included themes from DDBB’s long career, and showcased songs written by DDBB members as well as arrangements of pop and jazz themes that adapted to the sound of a brass band, gaining in color and freshness. In my opinion the overall musical aesthetic of the show was one the band had crystallized in Voodoo (Columbia Records, 1989) a record that featured legends of jazz like Dr. John, Dizzy Gillespie and Brandford Marsalis.

As a show, the scene was simple and unpretentious: two lines of seasoned musicians, one with drums and guitar at the back and the other with all the brass players facing the audience, all engaged in playing a music that was honest and fun. The tunes alternated between the group playing in unison and improv, leaving room for solos for each. Trombone player T.J. Norris even rapped to some themes and there were moments of sing-along with the audience as well.

In New Orleans brass bands, the sousaphone is an important fixture, serving to carry the the bass-line. The syncopated and up-tempo repertoire of this style demands for very accomplished players. Sousaphonist Kirk Joseph did not disappoint, excelling in his craft at every turn. The band was advancing like a road roller when musicians started picking dancers from the crowd and inviting them on stage to dance along—as if the band were playing especially for them.

All night long the hall was a restless sea of heads and bodies moving in sync with the music, when suddenly a renovated arrangement of ‘When the Saints Come Marching In’ made everyone start jumping and singing as if it were a decree for riotous joy. At the end of the concert, like an extra gift, the unrelenting beat brought up various music styles from the 20th century: jazzy bop, boogie, rock 'n' roll and, at last, funk music.

A friend once told me that because of their energy and attitude, a marching band's musicians seemed to her to be the real music warriors. That night the players of Dirty Dozen Brass Band had a quarrel with boredom and the chilly wind outside. You can guess who won the brawl.

Héctor Cols is an occasional contributor to the Barcelona Metropolitan, covering human or geographical landscapes and helping with data related issues. Héctor is a curious software developer that finds no joy in conversation with Siri or Alexa and prefers to mingle with other kinds of outsiders. A fan of all things Barcelona, Héctor was in charge of the culture section of Resident Aliens, a podcast of the American Society of Barcelona.