On the spot

Description

After celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2015, Hot 8 Brass Band returns with a 5th album, On the Spot, and a world tour that will get the French moving with its inimitable blend of funk, hip-hop & big easy jazz. The album title comes from an expression used when a brass band, during a parade, takes a rare break but keeps playing anyway by improvising to please the crowd, and the magic happens, resulting in a new song. In 20 years of career, the band has plenty of stories to tell. There are great stories, including a Grammy nomination for The Life and Times of the Hot 8 in 2012, appearances in the series Treme (HBO) and in two Spike Lee documentaries, When the Levees Broke in 2006 and The Creek don't Rise in 2010, concerts on the biggest stages in the world, and prestigious collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. There are also sad stories, with the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the separate deaths of five band members, and the tragic loss of trombonist Terrell 'Burger' Batiste's legs. After all that, the band continues to move forward by honoring departed friends and working toward the future of their community, whether locally or through music. On the Spot is the finest proof of that.