Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (also known as The Bad Boys of Jazz) is an eight-piece, Chicago-based brass ensemble consisting of eight sons of the jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran. Their musical style ranges from hip-hop to jazz to funk and rock, including calypso and gypsie music. They call their eclectic blend of sound "now music", or "Hypnotic". Reared in the teachings of music since they were children, they grew up on the stage playing as the "Phil Cohran Youth Ensemble".
Contents
Early history
The brothers were raised in a house where music was a constant element of the household. Phil Cohran's "Circle of Sound" held rehearsals in the living room and put on live shows in the adjacent loft/theatre called the "Sun Ark". The brothers were obligated to wake at 6am and play their horns before and after school. As adolescents, they played around Chicago as the Phil Cohran Youth Ensemble, performing for the likes of Harold Washington, Nelson Mandela, and other prominent figures of the day.
As the brothers grew into high school, many of them set their horns aside for a while. Enduring the deaths of close friends and family, including brother Anthony Neal, close friend Robert Lock (for whom they later wrote a song entitled "Flipside"), and Level Todd (for whom their song "Todd" was written), they decided to pick their horns back up. In 1999, the brothers took to the subways of Chicago and presented their music. Shortly after, they formed a fully-fledged, eight-piece brass ensemble and by 2004 recorded their first project, Flipside.[1]
Collaborations
They have performed with Mos Def, Aquilla Sadalla, Phil Cohran, The Recipe, Nomadic Massive, Tony Allen, Wu Tang Clan, De La Soul, Prince, Femi Kuti, Gorillaz, B52's and at the North Sea Jazz Festival. They have recorded with names ranging from Erykah Badu to Ghostface Killah of the Wu Tang Clan to BK-One to Childish Gambino to Maxwell. They supported Blur for their Hyde Park reunion concerts on 2–3 July 2009. They are also collaborators on a number of tracks from the third Gorillaz studio album, Plastic Beach. Their hit song "War" was featured in the box office smash The Hunger Games as the theme song for Caesar Flickerman. They collaborated on tracks with the group Rocket Juice & the Moon, a project featuring Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) on vocals/guitar/keyboard, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on bass, and legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen (Fela Kuti and many others) on the group's self-titled debut album.
Personnel
- Gabriel Hubert ("Hudah") - trumpet
- Saiph Graves ("Cid") - trombone
- Amal Baji Hubert ("Baji" or "June Body") - trumpet
- Jafar Baji Graves ("Yosh") - trumpet
- Seba Graves ("Clef") - trombone
- Tarik Graves ("Smoove") - trumpet
- Uttama Hubert ("Rocco") - baritone horn
- Hashim "Hash" Bunch - bass
- Kevin "VoEra" Hunt - guitar
Discography
| Year | Title | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Flipside (aka Hypnotic Orange) | Independently released | CD-R |
| 2005 | Jupiter (aka Hypnotic Green) | Independently released | CD-R |
| 2006 | "Jupiter" b/w "Balicky Bon" | Pantone | 10" record |
| 2007 | "War" b/w "Mercury" | Pantone | 10" record |
| 2007 | New York City Live | Independently released | CD-R |
| 2007 | "Brass in Africa" b/w "Brass in Africa (Bulljun Remix)" | Handcuts | 7" record |
| 2007 | Sankofa (split with Salah Ragab and the Afro-Egyptian Ensemble) | Honest Jon's | LP |
| 2008 | The Brothas | released by Pheelco Entertainment | CD-R |
| 2009 | "Alyo" b/w "Flipside" | Honest Jon's | 10" record |
| 2009 | Hypnotic Brass Ensemble | Honest Jon's | CD and LP |
| 2010 | Heritage EP | ChoiceCuts | CD and 12" record |
| 2011 | Bulletproof Brass | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download/CD/LP |
| 2012 | "Kryptonite" (single) | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download |
| 2013 | Fly: The Customs Prelude | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download/CD |
| 2014 | "All In" (single) | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download |
| 2015 | "Straight Business" (single) | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download/CD |
| 2016 | "Sound Rhythm & Form" | Pheelco Entertainment Inc. | download |
References
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Videos
- Straight Business Official Video
- City Livin Official Video
- Saikou Official Video
- Warsaw Full Show 2014
- Kryptonite Live
- "FLY" Full Album
Write-ups
- Karaslamb, "Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – 'City Living'", OkayPlayer
- Andrew Somuah, "Check Out Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s New Video 'Straight Business'", TheSource, January 7, 2015
- Martin Oregan, "Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at the Sugar Club" (December 3, 2014), Goldenplec, December 11, 2014
- Adam Quarshie, "Show: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble | Live"(December 12, 2014), Bristol Live Magazine, December 18, 2014
- Ben Stevens, Amsterdam: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble @ SugarFactory" (November 24, 2014), Muuie, November 10, 2014
- The Promontory Chicago 1/15/15
- Jeff Elbel, "In the Music Spotlight: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble", Chicago Sun-Times, January 6, 2015]
- "Live Review & Photo Gallery: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble @ Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath –11/12/2014", BrumNotes Magazine, December 23, 2014
- "Top Picks: PBS's look at family band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, 'August: Osage County' on DVD and Blu-ray, and more", Christian Science Monitor, April 4, 2014
- "Video: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Straight Business", Fake Shore Drive, January 7, 2015
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Hypnotic Brass Ensemble website
- Hypnotic Brass Ensemble fanpage
- Hypnotic Brass Ensemble/Mos Def/MF Doom 2014
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
- Album review
- Bulletproof Brass
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
- Album review
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
- Bulletproof Brass Album review
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