Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, the French Quarter or a heaping pile of crawfish are just a few of the elements that contribute to the New Orleans experience. Bringing a bit of the Big Easy to Sun Valley, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts will present the genuine sounds of New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band at the Sun Valley Opera House on Saturday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m.
All New Orleans natives, the Hot 8 have been together since 1995 and have played everything from birthday parties to world tours throughout Europe and in Japan as well as across the United States.
"I've been playing tuba since the sixth grade, almost 22 years," said band member Bennie Pete. "Our main message is to try to educate everyone on New Orleans culture and have people understand how far we have come and how far we have to go."
The Hot 8 play the "second line" parades in the French Quarter, which are traditional parades hosted each Sunday afternoon by the city's social clubs and bars. The Hot 8 was formed by Pete, Jerome Jones and Harry Cook, and the group makes an effort to reinvigorate traditional New Orleans music while mixing in hip hop, jazz and funk to produce a youthful, energetic sound. "We try to do songs for every age group, such as incorporating rap to reach the young ones," Pete said. "Parents love the R&B and grandparents love the traditional music. We are a family-friendly band that everyone can enjoy. We also talk a lot about our own story and give a bit of insight into what is really happening in New Orleans."
Pete said performing allows the band to educate people to the reality of living in New Orleans and the experiences of losing family members and friends to violence.
"We will play five to eight funerals a week," Pete said. "These are people we know because we have played their weddings, birthdays and parties. New Orleans is a very close-knit community of people who are all very friendly. We want to reach the kids and let them know if education fails them, that they do have a rich culture."
The Hot 8's appearance in Spike Lee's 2006 documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," gave the band a great deal of recognition and a legion of new fans. The group has released three albums and plays traditional New Orleans jazz funerals and nightclubs, and is a regular at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Hot 8 will have a new CD out in September, which will be a memorial to family members and friends the band members have lost.
Tickets for the Hot 8 Brass Band are $25 for The Center members, $30 for non-members and $10 for kids 12 and under. To purchase tickets visit sunvalleycenter.org, call 726-9491 or visit The Center in Ketchum. The Hot 8 will also perform for Wood River Valley schools, teach a master class to 60 students at Wood River High School and give an all-school performance at Hailey Elementary School on Thursday, May 7.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
New Orleans’ Hot 8 Brass Band will bring sounds of the Big Easy to the Sun Valley Opera House.
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