About
“Crescent City legends… wildly energetic” – NPR
Formed in 1977, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are the pioneers of the modern New Orleans brass band movement, recognized worldwide as an unstoppable musical machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances. They have been featured guests both in the studio and on stage with artists including Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Modest Mouse, Dave Matthews Band, The Black Crowes and many others.
In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late ’70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue’s name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
The Red Hot Django Peppers is a band that formed from the love of the music of Django Reinhardt. The troupe consists of guitarists Ryan Picone and Jose Betanzos, violinist Danny Lentz, and bassist Sean Roderick.
The Red Hot Django Peppers had their premiere performance in early 2019 at Moto-I and were then asked to play at the Artists’ Showcase in May 2019. The ensemble is steadily being recognized as one of the up-and-coming hot club jazz groups in the Twin Cities.
LEARN MORE: http://dirtydozenbrassband.com/