Bio

Not your ordinary municipal brass band, the Brassouls are a band of wind musicians, inspired by the sounds of "second line" New Orleans marching brass bands. Such influences include Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Rebirth Brass Band and The New Orleans Nightcrawlers.

The second line rhythm that developed from the street parades of New Orleans is a street music with an infectious groove, featuring funky drum rhythms and bluesy horns. Like most music of New Orleans, it is a hybrid of many musics; European, African, Delta Blues, Latin American to name a few. This music has the scope to be celebratory as effectively as expressing the blues.

The Brassouls are a particularly Kiwi take on this idea however. Many of the members in this particular ensemble have roots in church brass bands, or traditional English and Welsh colliery style brass bands, for which New Zealand is renown as having some of the best in the world. This is the brass sound that many folks are accustomed to in New Zealand, and they are very strong traditions in Aotearoa.

But some of the Brassouls players come from other backgrounds, like jazz, swing big bands and classical roots. This unusual collection of styles makes the sound of the Brassouls distinctive. It is an amalgam of various musical influences, not too dissimilar to how the music of New Orleans came to have its distinctive flavour. This sound continues to evolve too, as the musicians all have ample room to express themselves and explore their sound in the context of improvisation.

The Brassouls are a 10 piece acoustic band, featuring trumpets, trombones, saxophones percussion and the essential tuba.

Band Members:
Kingsley Melhuish (trumpet, composer, director)
and others...

Links

• Artist Website