The Brass Funkeys - BLOW HORN! (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Stewed
02. Harvey Barnes
03. Genie In A Bottle
04. My Pal Aaron Cheeney
05. Half Half and Half
06. Song For Lotte (My Wife)
07. Judy Hench
08. On Parade
09. Spice Up Your Life
10. The Hanging Man
11. Walk Off
12. Sybil

Rob Jericho, Jack Banjo Courtney, Rob Smith (trumpet); Tom Green, Vij Prakash (trombone); Dave Robinson (tenor saxophone); John Caddick (sousaphone); Harpal Mudhar (drums); Fred Harper (percussion) Guest musicians: Christos Styliandes (trumpet); Pete Thornton (trombone)

Blow that horn indeed! This British band was formed fifteen years ago and since then, has been wowing audiences at venues all around the country, such as the Glastonbury Festival (which they’ve played several times) and Ronnie Scott’s. Anyone who has seen them live (or on the many YouTube clips available) will know that this is a band that bursts with energy and it’s reflected in this recording, which is packed musical performances that are exciting, energising and exhilarating.

The band is a nonet, with seven brass players (three trumpets, two trombones, one tenor sax and a sousaphone, a giant-sized tuba that wraps around the player’s body) plus drums and percussion. No keyboard, no guitar, no bass guitar and definitely no synthesisers. Quite frankly, there’s more than enough going on sonically without the need for any additional instrumentation. On just a couple of numbers, an additional horn player is used to augment the sound.

The band plays a blend of New Orleans jazz with genres such as funk, drum-and-bass and afrobeat. This album is a mix of ten original songs (five band members wrote the material) and two pop covers.

For this recording, the band wanted to try and capture the energy of their live performance in a studio environment. The music was played live in the room, with few edits or takes, and while the recording obviously lacks the visual element and the audience buzz of a live gig, it succeeds in packing an aural punch.

There’s so much rousing music to enjoy, with imaginative arrangements, intricate harmonisations (check out the track ‘Judy Hench’) and sheer powerful playing. My favourite number, ‘My Pal Aaron Cheeney’, was written by trumpeter Jack Banjo Courtney. John Caddick’s sousaphone lays down a burbling bass riff and Harpal Mudhar, a fast, skipping beat, over which the brass ensembles plays the song’s catchy theme before soaring off into the skies, and climaxing with Courtney’s blistering trumpet solo, followed by a lively percussion solo of rattling timbales.

‘Half Half and Half’ has a slinky afrobeat groove and a tenor sax solo by Dave Robinson. The two covers are Christina Aguilera’s ‘Genie In A Bottle,’ and The Spice Girls – yes, you read that right! – ‘Spice Up Your Life.’ The latter is a stirring rendition you could imagine being played by a New Orleans second line. If you like music that lifts up your mood, stirs the soul, and makes you want to get up and move, this record is definitely for you.