Having celebrated its 25th anniversary on 25th Anniversary, the Rebirth Brass Band addresses the rebirth of New Orleans more than five years after Hurricane Katrina on Rebirth of New Orleans. The group had moved stylistically from its traditional N.O. marching band roots to something of a rap and hip-hop phase, but appropriate to the theme of rebirth, this album returns to a traditional approach, starting with “Exactly Like You,” an old standard. Other songs are originals, but they are in the tradition, with most of the material being either outright instrumentals or essentially instrumental, with roughly chanted group vocals. Drummer Derrick Tabb plays in assertive marching tempos, and the veteran brass players execute complicated arrangements. This is the sound of the Rebirth Brass Band returning to fundamentals and starting over, just as their hometown was forced to do. – William Ruhlmann