Brass band

Brass band
Brass band
Stylistic origins	European classical music
Cultural origins	19th century
Typical instruments	Brass instruments
Fusion genres
	Jazz

A brass band is a musical group generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles which include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularly in the context of New Orleans-style Brass Bands), but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert bands, wind bands or wind ensembles.

Derivations

British-style

File:Buckley-jubilee-2.jpg

A British brass band marching

A brass band in the British tradition with a full complement of 25 or 26 players (plus percussion) comprises:

1 Soprano Cornet in E♭
8-10 Cornets in B♭ (in separate parts for 'Solo', 'Repiano', 2nd and 3rd cornets; there may be 4/5 players to the 'Solo' part, one 'Repiano', two 2nd, and two or one 3rd)
1 Flugelhorn in B♭ (often notated on the same part as the 'Repiano')
3 Tenor Horns in E♭ (called Solo, 1st and 2nd)
2 Baritones in B♭
2 Euphoniums in B♭
2 Tenor Trombones (notated in B♭, sounding a major ninth below written)
1 Bass Trombone (the only instrument in the band notated as it sounds)
4 Tubas (2 in E♭ and 2 in B♭; often called Basses)
2 or 3 Percussion players (with 2 timpani, glockenspiel, snare drum, triangle, cymbals, a drum kit and more)

There is a long tradition of competition between brass bands, often based around local industry and communities. This form of brass band is widespread throughout Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand and is also commonly found in North America and continental Europe.

The Salvation Army, part of the Christian church, has deployed brass bands since 1878 and they continue to be an integral part of that organisation. The most well-known Salvation Army brass band is The International Staff Band which is based in London.

New Orleans

The tradition of brass bands in New Orleans, Louisiana dates to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Traditionally, New Orleans brass bands could feature various instrumentations, often including trumpets, trombones, saxophones, sousaphones and percussion. The music played by these groups was often a fusion between European-styled military band music and African folk music brought to the Americas by west African slaves and the idiom played a significant role in the development of traditional Jazz. Early brass bands include the Eureka Brass Band, the Onward Brass Band, the Excelsior Brass Band, the Tuxedo Brass Band, the Young Tuxedo Brass Band, the Camelia Brass Band, and the Olympia Brass Band.

A well-known use of these bands is for the New Orleans jazz funeral.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the New Orleans brass band tradition experienced a renaissance, with bands breaking away from traditional stylings and adding elements of funk, hip hop, and bop to their repertoires. Some notable exponents of this style of brass band include the Rebirth Brass Band, the Soul Rebels Brass Band, Youngblood Brass Band and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, though a number of groups outside the United States have begun playing this style of music. The style has moved beyond New Orleans and now brass bands can be found in such far flung places as Japan with the Black Bottom Brass Band, The Netherlands with the Happy Feet Brassband and the Hurricane Brass Band, Boston, Massachusetts with the Hot Tamale Brass Band and Madison, Wisconsin with Mama Digdown's Brass Band and Youngblood Brass Band.

Polynesia

Founded in 1836 by King Kamahameha III, the Royal Hawaiian Band is the second oldest and only full-time municipal band in the United States. In recent generations, unique brass band traditions have also developed in Tonga, Samoa, and other parts of Polynesia, as well as among the Māori of New Zealand. Some recordings are now available and these styles are beginning to be researched and promoted abroad through band tours.

Festivals around the world

One of the main festivals about brass bands is Tarragona international dixieland festival, in Catalonia, Spain. The organisation programs not only dixieland brass bands but also ethnic or world music brass bands from over the world. Best examples are Dirty Dozen Brass Band, from USA; Boban Marković Orkestar from Serbia, Eastern Europe; Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, from India; or Taraf Goulamas, from Occitania, France.

Brass Band Composers

Philip Sparke
Eric Ball
Peter Graham
Goff Richards
James McFadyen
Darrol Barry
Alan Fernie
Edward Gregson
Philip Wilby

Brass Band Publishers

Studio Music
Gramercy Music
Devilish Publishing Music Publishers

External links

IBEW- The complete information resource for brass bands world-wide
4barsrest- Up to date news and articles on the brass band scene
Brass Bands- Services for contacting bands and players worldwide
British Bandsman magazine
Brass Bands
Let Me Do My Thang: Rebirth Brass Band- a documentary filmed and edited by Keith Reynaud, Jr.