Search - Gangbe Brass Band :: Whendo

Great African Jazz!

Dr. John L. Bower | Bellingham, WA | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just heard the Gangbe Brass Band at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and bought the CD before heading home. I can tell you this is a CD to buy. The band stole the weekend-long jazz festival opening in Vancouver's historic Gastown - the crowd grew and grew, dancing, singing along, and demanding at least five encores! Exciting music occurs at the boundaries between cultures - and the Gangbe Brass Band, from Benin, crossing West African traditional music with American jazz, travels all over that cultural boundary. Each player had his own style - from smooth sax and trumpet soloists (I apologize to the band as I do not know the names of individuals) to one trumpeter sporting accomplished bebop solos (the most exceptional player) and some hoppin' trombone solos to boot. As might be expected, the drumming (three drummers all on different types of drums) drove the music forward and kept the audience moving. Wearing traditional dress, the group did lots of dancing as well, delighting the jazz festival audience. With all that going for them, perhaps the most exciting part was that the band was obviously having a great time playing their music. There was lots of laughter, smiles, and kidding around going on up on the stage. The fun was infectious, and you can feel it from listening to the CD too. So many jazz musicians these days take their music so seriously, one forgets how fun it is to just drop the pretension and let it swing."