08/18/2014
A trumpet blasts that iconic New Orleans riff: “da-da-DAAAAAAA-da!” Trombones, drums, and a tuba respond with a resounding “POW!” Once over again, and it’s on. Feathered fans fly up in the front, white hankies twirl around raised fingers in the back, and the marching, dancing, and buck-jumping begin.
From festivals to funerals, few occasions in New Orleans are celebrated without the help of a Second Line; a foot parade that sees revelers marching and boogying along to the music of a brass band. Now Mardi Gras Records, a pioneering independent label specializing in Louisiana roots music, offers audiophile listeners a chance to bring home this iconic sound on vinyl.
Mardi Gras Records was founded in the mid-1970s by Warren Hildebrand, an ebullient booster of all things New Orleans and all things musical. “At the beginning,” he explains, “everything was on vinyl, of course. And then things changed and we moved to CDs.” An advent of renewed interest in the warmth and liveliness of vinyl records found him reconsidering, though. He decided that it was time to give second-wave collectors (and those who never lost faith in the medium) a chance to drop a needle onto some of the finest cuts from the label’s extensive catalogue.
The record rips to life with the Rebirth Brass Band’s iconic New Orleans party anthem “Do Whatcha Wanna.” This 1987 cut boasts short and sweet eponymous lyrics penned by Rebirth founding member Kermit Ruffins -- short, shoutable lyrics being the most practical sort in this tradition, which sees most performances taking place in the middle of noisy street parades. The sound, exemplified here, is led by punchy, cutting melodies played on trumpets and trombones and played over thumping march rhythms (with their signature funky syncopation, a rhythmic element that stretches back to Congo Square and across the ocean).
read more: https://www.storyamp.com/dispatch/10353/9NBloqWFV_ud81-exbeu2A
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