"Plenty of
horns + tons of percussion = good time grooves!"
-Freak Out Magizine
"If you haven't seen Brass Monkey, don't
miss them next time they play!"
-SF Gate"
Move over, ROVA; step aside, Dirty Dozen Brass
Band; make room, World Saxophone Quartet.
There’s a (relatively) new Organization
in town, outside talent from ‘way out
west. The moniker of this sinister combine:
Brass Monkey, from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Oh sure, you never know just how many will
show up, so don’t judge them by size.
On this album, they are nine strong: a sousaphonist,
2 trombonists, a trumpeter, 2 percussionists,
and 3 sax players who double on other winds
or percussion, one of whom is a special guest:
multi-winds-wizard Ralph Carney. Brass Monkey
let out a mighty racket, and a joyous one
at that, echoing the early-20th century New
Orleans marching bands, the imaginative free-range
sounds of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, the
polyphony of NYC’s Lounge Lizards, Brit
new wave funksters Pigbag and Nigeria’s
Fela Kuti and the driving, in-the-pocket,
groove-mad strut of Funk Classicists James
Brown and The BT Express.
Make no mistake: this is Party Music, but
party music with chops up the wazoo, and brains
to boot, and Brass Monkey are confident enough
to leave some of the rough edges showing.
This disc has plenty of skronk, stomp and
swing, enough for three bands – and
they get extra points for performing a swell,
obscure Ellington tune, “Limbo Jazz.”
Live In Time And Space is a tonic, it’s
legal AND no prescription needed, the sound
of revelry in handy compact disc form."
-Jazzreview.com
by NYC music writer, Mark Keresman.
June 2001
I LOVE A BAND WITH A TUBA IN IT: One of the
most raucous, unique and delightful bands
on the Bay Area scene is The Brass Monkey
Brass Band, who play traditional, New Orleans'
style music, from ragtime to second-line,
with the enthusiasm and energy of a ripping
Louisiana rocket.
Gathering their members from a variety of
well-known ensembles, this happy-go-struttin'
group has just wowed crowds every time they
play. While not exactly 76 Trombones, their
all-acoustic, all-brass, all-drum all the
time music incorporates the best of traditional
Mardi Gras jazz that dates back to the early
20s along with modern takes of artists like
Led Zeppelin & Stevie Wonder. Go figure.
Their sparkling debut release is "Live
in Time and Space" on the pungently-named
Weed Records. I just know you probably ain't
heard nothin' like it, so check it out at:
www.brassmonkeybrassband.com.
By Joseph Jordan for
Southland Blues - February 2003
http://www.southlandblues.com/
All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2003
