About Rebirth Brass Band
The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1983 by Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, Kermit Ruffins, and classmates from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School, which closed in the spring of 2018, in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans.: 112 Arhoolie released its first album in 1984.
In 2012, Rebirth won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album, the inaugural year of the Grammy category. The band also performed in the pre-telecast ceremony for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.
Rebirth Brass Band is known for combining traditional New Orleans brass band music, including the New Orleans tradition of second line, with funk, jazz, soul and hip hop.: 113 In 1993, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and Rebirth split amicably after Ruffins decided to spend more time at home with his young family and forego Rebirth touring engagements. For a time, he accompanied Rebirth at their local events, until he formed his own band, the Barbecue Swingers.
Rebirth's longstanding regular Tuesday night gig at the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans is one of the pillars of the New Orleans music scene, and has served as a reliable introduction to the city's nightlife for many new arrivals to the city. During his speech commemorating the 10th year since Hurricane Katrina, President Barack Obama jokingly mentioned that maybe he will "finally hear Rebirth at Maple Leaf on Tuesday night" after he is out of office.
The band regularly tours North America and Europe. In 2011, Basin Street Records released the album Rebirth of New Orleans, which reached No. 1 on the CMJ Jazz charts and earned the group a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. In 2015, Rebirth received an award for "Best Brass Band" from OffBeat magazine.
By the middle of 2019, founding members Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier and Derrick Tabb were no longer playing regularly with the band. At the 2020 Grammy Awards, the band's album Recorded Live At The 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
Map & Directions To Venue
