The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

There is a wealth of history behind 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. Social aid and pleasure clubs dated back more than a century, to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance. The clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements, and brass bands, early predecessors of the jazz we know, would often follow the funeral processions, playing somber dirges until the family of the deceased was out of earshot. Then they let loose, playing jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets.

By the late 1970s, the tradition had largely died out. In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social Aid and Pleasure Club assembled a group as the house band and early on, it adopted the name The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Now, more than 45 years since its founding, the Grammy-winning group has taken the traditional foundations 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 Band to become a world-famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performance. They have toured five continents, played in more than 30 countries, and collaborated with a wide range of artists from Modest Mouse to Norah Jones.
The seven-member ensemble consists of Roger Lewis on baritone sax and vocals, Gregory Davis on trumpet and vocals, Kirk Joseph on Sousaphone, Trevarri Huff-Boone on tenor sax and vocals, Stephen Walker on trombone and vocals, Julian Addison on drums, and Takeshi Shimmura on guitar.

Offbeat magazine called the Dirty Dozen Brass Band “arguably the most influential ensemble to emerge in New Orleans over the last 25 years. Its sway on the brass scene has been staggering, spawning bands like the ReBirth, New Birth, Hot 8, Li’l Rascals, Soul Rebels, and just about every other young brass ensemble presently performing.”

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band won a 2023 Grammy for Best American Roots Performance. Whatever your roots, don’t miss this toe-tapping, line-dancing, arms-waving rollicking good time. They call it musical gumbo. Bon appetit!