Pinstripe Brass Band...

These Photos I made recently in New Orleans are of the Pinstripe Brass Band. It was a rocking gig, maybe the best I have seen and I can recall seeing some of the biggies, Rebirth, Dirty Dozen, Soul Rebels and some lesser ones I can't recall right off the bat.

New Orleans brass bands have, tuba, trumpet, trombones, saxs, snare, bass drum and often other assorted percussion including cowbell. I think I like New Orleans so much because more cowbell, more banjo, more tuba and more accordion are good things. Check this photo, stunt trumpet. Ok, I know you guys always have the melody, but give us a break.

The brass band tradition dates to the late 19th century when various civil war units in the area began breaking up and the instruments from their European style military bands fell into the hands of recently freed slaves who combined African folk music with the military style to birth the music we call jazz. Not that these folks hadn't been busy, in the early 18th century the French owners of New Orleans had allowed their slaves Sundays off so they could gather in an area across Rampart St. north of the Quarter in what was called Congo Square to dance and drum basically inventing pop music as we know it today. I have stood there listening and thinking, like I do sometimes in old places where things changed trying to catch a vibe of those long gone and what they did.

One thing that changed with the U.S. purchase of Louisiana was the beginning of a harsher practice of slavery, especially in the years leading up to the Civil War when gathering of potential subversives were banned. The fun in Congo Square died out, hence the gap between this and the brass band beginnings. What could have been with uninterrupted creativity? Keeping the poor people down pretty much never goes out of style whether it's controlled famine and decreased nutrition in Africa resulting in under developed brains that can't be future leaders or the well off folks railing against health care for all in this country, it will never end.

New Orleans Social and Pleasure Club members hear the Pinstripe Brass band and begin to dance. More pictures of these guys later.

Course if your are watching the recent show "Treme" on your big screen you know all this.