Biography
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Years Active
1977 – present (47 years)
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Founded In
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
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Members
- Benny Jones (1977 – present)
- Charles Joseph (1977 – 1991)
- Efrem Towns (1977 – present)
- Gregory Davis (1977 – present)
- Jake Eckert
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are a New Orleans style brass band which plays R&B and Traditional New Orleans music. Band Members include Charles Joseph, Keith Anderson, Roger Lewis, Kevin Harris, Lionel Batiste, Efrem Towns, Kirk Joseph, Jenell Marshall, Revert Andrews, Gregory Davis, and Raymond Weber. Original band formed in 1975.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Celebrating over 40 years since their founding in 1977, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including Bebop Jazz, Funk and R&B/Soul. This unique sound, described by the band as a ‘musical gumbo,’ has allowed the Dirty Dozen to tour across 5 continents and more than 30 countries, record 12 studio albums and collaborate with a range of artists from Modest Mouse to Widespread Panic to Norah Jones. Forty-plus years later, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances.
Roger Lewis - Baritone Sax/Vocals
Kevin Harris - Tenor Sax/Vocals
Gregory Davis - Trumpet/Vocals
Kirk Joseph - Sousaphone
TJ Norris - Trombone/Vocals
Julian Addison - Drums
Takeshi Shimmura - Guitar
The History of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social Aid 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 aid 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 Aid 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.
Website: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
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