Wild Iris Brass Band - Way Up (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. We're The Wild Iris
02. 9 to 5
03. Eye Of The Cyclops
04. Bramble Ramble
05. Steppin' Up
06. The Slow Express
07. Let It Slide
08. To The Bone

Emmanuel Echem – trumpet; Weedie Braimah – djembe, conga; Jeff Coffin – soprano sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, electro-sax, clarinet; Justin Amaral – drums, percussion; Béla Fleck – banjo; Ryoko Suzuki – tambourine; Steven Bernstein – electric slide trumpet; Neil Konouchi – sousaphone; Bob Lanzetti – guitar; Bernardo Aguiar – Brazilian percussion; Jovan Quallo – alto sax; Yuko Bannai – vocals; Ray Mason – trombone, composition

The Wild Iris Brass Band got its start the way all great New Orleans brass bands should—by surprising someone on their birthday. In the middle of the pandemic, saxophonist Jeff Coffin had a friend turning 50 who had dreamed of sipping coffee and listening to a brass band in the French Quarter. With travel off the table, Coffin and his neighbor, trombonist Ray Mason, decided to bring the Quarter to him. They pulled together a band, hit the street, and delivered a 20-minute second line set that planted the seeds for what would become Wild Iris—a Nashville-based brass band with New Orleans roots.

Way Up pulls from far more than the New Orleans playbook. Coffin and Mason wrote most of the tunes themselves, and you can hear their broad reach—from funk and jazz to pop, Afrobeat, and even Tennessee twang. Their brass-band take on Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ is pure joy, tipping a hat to their home state while keeping the groove tight and playful. Then there’s ‘Steppin ’Up,’ a swampy spin on ‘Giant Steps’ that barrels forward like a runaway train—raw, fast, and recorded in one take.

It’s followed by ‘Slow Express,’ where the band locks into a laid-back parade groove, with heavy sousaphone holding down the low end. The horns play tight unison lines that loop and wind like a second line drifting through the streets, before Béla Fleck’s banjo cuts through with a crisp, earthy sound that blends beautifully against the heft of the full band.

The core band sets the tone: Jeff Coffin on reeds, Ray Mason on trombone, Emmanuel Echem on trumpet, Jovan Quallo on alto sax, Neil Konouchi on sousaphone, Justin Amaral on drums and percussion, and Ryoko Suzuki on tambourine. Guests like Béla Fleck on banjo and Steven Bernstein on electric slide trumpet slip in, feeling more like lagniappe than headliners—extra seasoning on an already solid dish.

Way Up doesn’t try to reinvent the brass band—it just reminds you how good this music can feel when it’s played with heart. There’s tradition here, sure, but also detours: a Dolly Parton cover, some swamp funk, a bit of banjo. What could’ve been a one-off birthday surprise turned into a band with its own voice—and one worth sticking with. Here’s hoping Way Up is just the start.

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