Hypnotic Brass Ensemble featuring special guest Talib Kweli
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble brings its eight-piece brass-band formation to Blue Note for the late set, with Talib Kweli billed as special guest. The Chicago group’s music joins massed horns and drums with a vocabulary shaped by jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, rock, calypso and gypsy music, a hybrid they call “now music” or “Hypnotic.” Kweli’s appearance gives the night a direct connection to the ensemble’s history of collaborations with major voices in hip-hop.
Formed in 1999, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is made up principally of brothers, the sons of jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran, himself a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Their usual instrumentation includes trumpets, trombones, euphonium, sousaphone and drums, sometimes with guitar and bass. The band has worked with Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Flea, Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, Prince, Mos Def, De La Soul, Ghostface Killah and Wu-Tang Clan, as well as Talib Kweli. Their track “War” appeared in The Hunger Games. Reviewers have called them the “Bad Boys of Jazz,” praising sophisticated compositions and infectious grooves, while their performances are described as intricate, energetic and dance-inducing.
Blue Note Jazz Club is a dedicated listening room in the heart of Manhattan's jazz district, where the music is the focus and the space is designed to let the sound fill the room. The club features a stage with a small audience area, and the atmosphere is one of quiet concentration on the music. Shows typically begin at 8:00 PM with a second set at 10:30 PM, and the audience sits on chairs close to the stage. The club has a bar, and drinks are available. The experience is primarily about listening to live jazz, with occasional gospel and soul performances, and the audience often stays to talk and enjoy the music after the sets.