Youngblood Brass Band flouts convention in an ecstatic, raucous, incendiary fashion, taking the form of a New Orleans brass band and morphing it into a punked-out hip-hop behemoth of groove and purpose. The ten-member ensemble, born in Madison, Wisconsin, has been unleashing their crash course in genre-bending worldwide since 1998. What other band can claim the honor of having their music spun by DJs like Questlove (The Roots), working with hip-hop luminaries like Talib Kweli, having their original compositions performed by student marching bands/jazz ensembles around the globe, and still not be out of place at a dance-punk festival?
YBB has headlined countless tours in the States and abroad, selling out dates in over 20 countries. Their festival résumé reads like a list of the heaviest music events in the world: Roskilde, Glastonbury, Lowlands, Pukkelpop, SXSW, CMJ, North Sea Jazz, WOMAD, ad infinitum. White-hot live shows secured the band’s status as an incredible group to witness, whether in an intimate club setting or in front of thousands on a festival stage.
YBB’s debut album, Word On The Street (1998), set the tone for the years to come, and saw the band beginning to tour the states. The follow-up, Unlearn (2000), featured collaborations with Talib Kweli (the underground smash “Ya’ll Stay Up”), Mike Ladd, DJ Skooly, and Frank Zappa vocalist Ike Willis. Attention garnered led to a signing with Ozone Music NYC, the revolutionary avant-hip-hop label that introduced the poetic talents of Saul Williams, Company Flow (El-P), Antipop Consortium, Mr. Lif, etc. The band's Ozone debut, 2003’s center:level:roar (which also spawned the now-ubiquitous instrumental anthem ‘Brooklyn’) saw the band globetrotting to sold out audiences.
Youngblood released two more albums: Live. Places. (2005) and Is That a Riot? (2007), both of which accelerated their notoriety as the world’s preeminent live brass band. YBB also continued engaging in frequent educational work, stopping at high schools and universities to offer workshops on New Orleans music history, jazz improvisation, hip-hop culture, and the creative impulse. It is through this work that Youngblood acquired cult status among young musicians.
Youngblood’s last full-length, Pax Volumi (2013), saw the band partnering with Tru Thoughts, the Brighton UK label that includes a roster ranging from deep soul (Alice Russell) to hip-hop (Ty) to straight-up New Orleans brass band (Hot 8), and the pairing couldn’t be more apt. The album captures the live intensity of the stage and explodes with beats and rhymes that bang right out of sound systems. It’s almost as if the group spent the last 15 years getting ready to become THIS Youngblood Brass Band; as though everything in the past had led up to the creation of an album that defies classification, an album that couldn’t be made by any other band.
Two decades deep, Youngblood released a compilation/anniversary CD and 2LP, 20 Years Young (2017), which includes classics, unreleased demos, live tracks, and more. The band's most recent release, Covers 1, is a re-imagining of a number of modern songs, from Janelle Monae's 'Electric Lady' to Tears For Fears' 'Mad World' to No Doubt's 'Don't Speak', and each song is approached as a way to express sonic possibilities that aren't immediately apparent in the originals, including a YBB-take on a mash-up of some of the band's favorite hip-hop beats.
Road warriors to the end, on stages worldwide, the verdict has been issued: the band has never sounded so good. Whatever it is: the roof-tearing shows, the educational aims, the small town roots, the no-smirks honesty, the fist-pumping anthems... Youngblood Brass Band has become an institution, one that demands to be seen and heard. Rigorous dancing is also acceptable.
*Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, YBB is not currently playing dates, but all members are available for skype lessons, custom song commissions, arrangements, and consultations. The band has also released tons of new sheet music, including previously unavailable songs, big band arrangements, and interactive sheet music.*