Brass Bands
By James Sullivan, eMusic Contributor
"New Orleans is the hippest city on the planet," wrote a DJ for the city's hippest radio station, WWOZ, a decade ago in the liner notes to a compilation of new-wave brass bands called "Kickin 'Some Brass." After decades of neglect, the second line -- the brass-and-percussion tradition of flamboyant Mardi Gras parades and cathartic funeral marches -- was in the midst of a full-scale comeback. Brass bands, rooted in John Philip Sousa-style ceremonial pomp,… more »