Treme Brass Band

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The Treme Brass Band opened the 2006 National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellows concert. Treme Brass Band2.jpg
The Treme Brass Band opened the 2006 National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellows concert.

The Treme Brass Band is a marching brass band from New Orleans, Louisiana led by snare drummer Benny Jones Sr. The band, which plays traditional New Orleans-style brass band music, features a shifting lineup that has included trumpeters Kermit Ruffins and James Andrews, tenor saxophonists Elliot Callier and Frederick Sheppard, trombonist Corey Henry, and sousaphonist Kirk Joseph. [1] Before his death in 2012, Lionel Batiste appeared consistently on the bass drum. They have released two albums, Gimme My Money Back on Arhoolie Records and I Got a Big, Fat Woman on the Sound of New Orleans Records label. [2] The band takes its name from New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood; due to some historical confusion, the "Treme" in the name is sometimes spelled "Tremè" or "Tremé". In 2010 the Treme Brass Band performed with Uncle Lionel Batiste to play Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.

The Treme Brass Band, including "Uncle" Lionel Batiste, was featured in the 2011 non-fiction film by Darren Hoffman, Tradition is a Temple . Their version of "A Closer Walk With Thee" was heard in the first episode of the HBO series Treme and is included on the series soundtrack. [3] Additionally, the Treme Brass Band leads the Marching Krewe KOE on their Fat Tuesday Parade throughout the French Quarter in New Orleans.

The band is a recipient of a 2006 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. [4]

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[Jon] Batiste has been in the zone since before he was born. He comes from a long line of New Orleans musicians, including his father, Michael, a bassist who performed with Jackie Wilson and Isaac Hayes on the "Chitlin’ Circuit" in the ’60s and ’70s. His dad also co-founded the Batiste Brothers Band: seven brothers who played R&B, soul, funk and New Orleans music. He says his father was his first mentor, as was Alvin Batiste, the late clarinetist, “who taught everyone from New Orleans music over the last 40 years.” Add to that lineage "Uncle" Lionel Batiste from the Treme Brass Band, Milton Batiste from the Olympia Brass Band and his cousin Russell Batiste Jr., who played with the Funky Meters.

References

  1. "The Treme Brass Band - Gimme My Money Back". El Cerito, CA: Arhoolie Records. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  2. Gary Edwards. "The Treme Brass Band - I Got a Big Fat Woman". New Orleans, LA: Sound of New Orleans. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  3. "Treme Season 1 : Episode 1 : Do You Know What it Means : Music". Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  4. "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2006". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.