Vicennial: 20 Years Of The Hot 8 Brass Band

At the centre is 'Vicennial 20 Years Of The Hot 8 Brass Band', a special album mixing brand new tracks with newly recorded classic Hot 8 material, this jubilant LP finds the band on the form of their lives. Across three albums - 2007's 'Rock With The Hot 8', 2012's Grammy-nominated 'The Life & Times Of...' and 2013's 'Tombstone' - with a host of standout singles, including their iconic version of "Sexual Healing" alongside several other covers and equally impressive originals, Hot 8 Brass Band have told the story of their lives and their city like only they can. One of the great New Orleans acts, Hot 8 have pushed on through a barely imaginable series of trials. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the separate deaths of four of their band members, and the horror of trumpeter Terrell "Burger" Batiste losing his legs in a car crash, conspired to test these men almost to breaking point. They honour their fallen friends and help to work towards the future of their community by putting their energies into positive projects at home as well as touring as much as they can. They march together and they play their music - a rambunctious yet elegant and super-tight mix of jazz, funk and hip hop - not merely as though, but because their lives depend on it. The recording sessions for "Vicennial..." saw Hot 8 Brass Band welcoming former members back into the studio, as well as featuring performances from family members of their fallen bandmates (from siblings through to grandparents), giving even more meaning and poignancy to each track, whether new or a revision of one of their classics. Across the album, the vibrant new recordings capture the spirit of a community and make a strong statement of the band's longevity, vitality and constant progress. MORE PRAISE FOR HOT 8 BRASS BAND: "Incendiary" - THE OBSERVER "Irresistible" - MOJO "Undiluted nourishment for the soul" - THE BIG ISSUE "One of 2012's finest albums" - SONGLINES "Peerless" - METRO "Those guys have definitely got the horns" - LAUREN LAVERNE (BBC 6MUSIC) "Dope" - GILLES PETERSON (BBC 6MUSIC)