BROTHERS OF BRASS BREATHE LIFE INTO COLORADO

The Flavor Of The Crescent City To The Mile High City

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

ey proudly call themselves the B.O.B. from the 303, bringing the Big Easy up to high altitudes with their soul-gripping blend of music stylings with New Orleans jazz.

Known for its vibrant nightlife and colorful buildings is the French Quarter. e French Quarter is the heart of New Orleans, and jazz is its heartbeat.

Breathing life into Bourbon Street are the sounds of brass instruments and drums continuously owing out of numerous jazz clubs.

With just a trumpet, clarinet, berry sax, alto sax, trombone, snare, bass drum and tuba, the Brothers of Brass are bringing that one and only soulful heartbeat to Colorado.

“It’s a cultural tradition that most of the country doesn’t have,” said e group’s repertoire is a simmering mix of slow and angsty tunes and fast-paced tempos with a kick of familiar melodies. e Brothers of Brass blend of other genres like R&B, hip hop and psychedelic jam rock into each set.

Armando Lopez, a member of the Brothers of Brass.

A day after a tornado hit Highlands Ranch in late June, the Brothers of Brass dished out a much-needed evening of fun for the community. Soon, everyone went from clapping to full-out dancing, allowing concertgoers a chance to relax.

“It was nice to see so many kids, like, actually getting up out of their seats and the older people getting up and dancing and enjoying the music,” said Khalil Simon, who is originally from New Orleans. “It’s not so often that we get to play like New Orleans brass music for a crowd like this and appreciate it, that’s pretty unique.”

Not only did the band members interact with one another on stage throughout the night, they got the crowd involved by singing along and repeating after them. Although it was an outdoor concert, there was no excuse for the crowd not being loud enough.

Among some crowd favorites were “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr., and “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. And of course, they couldn’t call themselves a brass band without playing the beloved spiritual hymn “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

In true New Orleans fashion, each band member was called out to do a solo, each one emoting a di erent feeling.

As the music continued and the sun began to set, the crowd let the good times roll as more children and adults came to the front of the stage, dancing as if it were Mardi Gras. e strong, powerful notes of brass instruments and the beautiful harmonizing of the members’ voices encapsulated the feeling of the Crescent City.

Just when the sun went behind the buildings, the Brothers of Brass were kind enough to strap on their instruments for an encore, playing “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child.

“ ey say a lot with very little,” said Lopez. “When you play the horn, there’s a lot of emotional information in your tone quality — you can literally play one note and instantly captivate somebody and that is not always taught.”

When two street performers collide

Just like their voices, the members of the Brother of Brass is a blended group. e group quickly learned that busking at event egresses was a better way of making money, so they began playing with baseball egresses but expanded to playing outside of concerts and events that drew large crowds.

On the streets of Atlanta, Georgia in 2014, Simon and a couple of his friends were busking — playing music on a public street for voluntary donations.

When the groups of friends rst started playing, they were sharing horns until they had saved up enough money to get horns for each member. ey called themselves the Brothers of Brass.

When baseball season came to a close, the group decided to travel across the country in search of other venues to perform.

Lopez continued to share his love for music after moving to Denver from Los Angeles. Having received a music education in jazz, Lopez brought that in uence into street music.

Once in Denver, Lopez played the saxophone on 16th Street Mall and, in 2013, Jake Herman joined in on drums and a small funk and jazz band ensemble was formed called e group busked on 16th Street Mall, Boulder’s Pearl St. Mall and the First Friday Art Walks in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, often including a rotating lineup of local musicians to play with them.

Nimbus.

On a random day in April 2015, Lopez heard the deep bass of a tuba while playing on 16th Street

Mall. He followed the sound to nd Simon playing the tuba. e two groups ended up playing together at the nearby Denver Center for the

“ ey showed us a new way of

Until Simon moved to Denver in 2016, the two groups continued to collaborate whenever the Brothers of Brass were in Denver, eventually transforming into a full sized brassband and bringing the New Orleans

“You don’t really see a lot of actual brass-bands outside of only there (New Orleans),” said Simon. “So I gured I’d bring it here and to see people receiving it so well, it feels so

Social justice through music

With aspirations to become a nonpro t organization, the Brothers of Brass began the Black Brass Initiative a few years ago, calling it a “de facto” cultural exchange program between the deep south and the Denver metro area.

e inspiration of the initiative goes back to when Simon began to travel while busking the streets. e initiative is responsible for the housing, transportation and food of black musicians from Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.

“It’s nice to spread that culture here in Colorado, it’s kind of why I moved here, cause eventually places like New Orleans are not gonna exist anymore due to climate change and that’s where all this stu (music) came from and it’s mostly only there right now,” said Simon. e band has been using the wealth generated by performing to reinvest in the black communities in the south, where these musical traditions originated.

As stated on their website: “ e hope is that bringing gems of this culture to e Colorado Front Range will create a pipeline for cultural and educational enrichment for both the people of Colorado and the lineage of these musicians.”

Looking toward the future

From performing at a Mardi Gras party at Meow Wolf to playing the Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Brothers of Brass have no intention of slowing down.

For the rest of the summer, the Brothers of Brass will be playing at various locations throughout the metro area, including Cly ord Still Museum’s Lawn Concert, History Colorado Museum and the Bluebird eater.

ey can also be heard on the streets of Denver as they liven up the crowds.

e band will be releasing an upcoming album and can be followed on social media.

“By making this music, I’ve gotten farther and seen more of the world and people than doing anything else,” Simon said.