Jambalaya Brass Band

Jambalaya Brass Band

The Jambalaya Brass Band is New York City's ultimate New Orleans party band. They are available for performances with a s few as 5 pieces or as many as 9 pieces. Since 1998 they've been kickin' it hard with a flavor straight from the streets of New Orleans, paying their respects to the unique musical traditions of New Orleans incorporating a special blend of R & B, Funk, Gospel Traditional Jazz, Zydeco, Latin, Hip Hop and Be-Bop. They will take you on a historical journey through the New Orleans brass band tradition. It is a joyous romp starting from the early beginnings with Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong and ending up with their own modern sounds influenced by the Rebirth, Dirty Dozen and New Birth brass bands.

In addition to recording for the Warner Bros. film, Where The Wild Things Are, two commercials for Southern Comfort, Treme Life a documentary by James Demaria, and the ColoursTV documentary film about Leah Daughtry (CEO of the National Democratic Convention 2008), they have played The 2nd Line Across the Brooklyn Bridge, A Jazz Funeral for Coney Island, Riverhead Mardi Gras Festival, WSME-FM Backyard BBQ, B.B. King Blues Club NYC, Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square, Sullivan Hall, 150th anniversary of Downstate Medical Center, Columbia Festival of Winds, Huntington Summer Arts Festival (opening for Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-chas), Good Day New York on Fox 5 NYC for Mardi Gras, Britney Spears' Super Bowl Party, Mardi Gras for the New York Knicks half-time show, a New York Liberty's half-time show at Madison Square, 52nd Street Americana Jazz Festival, Tribeca Blues, The Bayou Restaurant(Mt.Vernon,NY), Brooklyn Conservatory, Cornelia Street Cafe, The Mardi Gras Restaurant, Big Daddy's Restaurant, Chelsea Brewing Company, Jacques-Imo Café, Town of Hemstead Summer Concert Series, Summer Plaza Series (Brooklyn Arts Council), Prospect Park Halloween Event, Princeton University Reunion, Fulton Street Beat, Bloomingdales Department Store, Brooklyn To The Bayou a benefit for Tipitina's Artist Relief Foundation, Dinosaur BBQ-NYC, NYC Village Halloween Parade and has had Branford Marsalis sit in with them.

Our new CD On The Funky Side, produced by Ric Frank, was released January 15, 2013. It was recorded at Mad Hands Studio in Teaneck, New Jersey, engineered by Mike Cullens and mixed by Mike Cullens at Mad Hands Studio. It has placed on the national charts CMJ report and Roots Music Report and is currently receiving airplay on over 50 broadcast radio stations.

It's A Jungle Out There, produced by Ric Frank and Larry Baeder, was released November 9. 2010. It was recorded at Pyramid Recording Studios in New York and two cuts were recorded in New Orleans at Ultrasonic Studios in August 2005 just before Katrina. Todd Hemleb engineered the New York sessions and Steve Reynolds engineered the New Orleans session. Todd Hemleb and Larry Baeder did the mixing at Pyramid Studios in New York. Special guests include Kirk Joseph, Charles Joseph, Dinerral Shavers, Raymond Williams, Roderick Paulin, Ajay Mallery and Women of the Calabash. It placed on the national charts: CMJ report, Roots Music Report, and Cashbox in additon to receiving airplay on 85 broadcast radio stations.

  THE BAND

Ric Frank - leader, tenor Sax, vocals, zydeco tie, percussion
Ric has performed with Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ray Santos Caribbean Music Experience, Louie Ramirez, Henry Fiol,Treme Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band Armando Manznero, Yolandita Monge, Bobby Rodriguez Y Nueva Compania , American Renaissance Theatre Chamber Ensemble, Johnny Allen, Michael J. Packer, Todd Wolfe, Dallas Fisher,'Tuff' Jeff Salen, Steve Tintweiss,Jerome Callet's Stratosphere Big Band and sits in regularly with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in NYC. Ric has received grants from, Meet The Composer, Van Horne Foundation For Excellence In Teaching and ASCAP Plus Awards. Ric plays the RS Berkeley Virtuoso VIT2005G  

Steve Gluzband - trumpet, vocals, percussion
Steve has performed/recorded with Ray Barretto (20 years) and Johnny Pacheco (5 years), on Celia Cruz's Grammy Award winning Ritmo en el Corazon with Ray Barretto and on Talking Heads' double platinum CD Naked, on TV shows Blues Clues and MTV Road Rules, in feature films Happy Accidents and Mad Hot Ballroom, and on TV commercials for the NY State Lottery, Best Man on Broadway and McDonald's, to name but a few.

Curtis Fowlkes - trombone, vocals, percussion
Curtis is a co-founder of the Jazz Passengers and has also performed with The Lounge Lizards, Charlie Haden, Bill Frissel, Louis Bellson Big Band, Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Sheryl Crow, Don Byron, and leads his own group Catfish Corner.

Ralph Hamperian - tuba/sousaphone
Ralph has performed/toured with Mingus alumnus Jaki Byard in duo, trio and big band settings across the country and in Europe, The Lionel Hampton Orchestra in many of the major European jazz festivals including JVC-Nice, on Broadway in Chicago, and with his own group Ralph Hamperian's Tuba D'Amore.

Chauncey Yearwood- bass drum, cymbal, drum set
Chauncey has worked with Bill Ware's Urban Vibes and Vibes Trio, Yah Supreme & Brohemian, and Peter Barr's Drums & Percussion. Chauncey also works with The Pimps of Joytime, Escort, Fu Arkestra, James Kinney and African Underground Allstars and with Dj Concerned and Tha Itch at the Lovebeat party.

Kevin Raczka-snare drum, cymbal, drum set
Kevin has performed, toured or recorded with Breakdown Brass Band, Amayo's Fu-Arkistra, Ikebe Shakedown, The Underground Horns, Pitch Blak Brass, No Small Money Brass Band, The Hungry March Band, Zozo Afrobeat, ?uestlove, The Mandingo Ambassadors, The World Inferno Friendship Society, Mephiskapheles, and The Brazilian Girls amongst many others.


• Former Members and others that have performed or recorded with us
  Kirk Joseph, Charles Joseph, Roderick Paulin, Raymond Williams, Ajay Mallory, Dineral Shavers,Branford Marsalis, Darrell Walker,Shawn Edmonds, Joe Hrbek, Alex Harding, Matt Patuto, Julie Bluestone, Charlie Kolhmeyer, Brian Bonvissuto, Evan Barker, Wayne Goodman, Jose Davila, Andy Burns, Chris Lacinak, Dave Berger, Moses Patrou, Yorel Lashley, Michael Weisberger, Al Acosta, Kevin Blancq, DeShannon Higa, Benny Russell, Lily White, Bob Curtis, Brad Leali, Jason Marshall, Dimetri Moderbaker, Burny Pelsmajer, Bill Dunn, Mike Lewis, Mike Hackett, Chuck MacKinnon, Omar Kabir, Mark Mcgowan, Owen Nestor, Kenny Rampton, Ben Wolkins, Greisha Alexiev, Rob Garcia, Artie Simmons, Joe Daley, Daniel Jodacy, Allison LeBlanc, Tom Leith, Phil Shimmel,Martin Urbach, Brian Drye, Greg Erickson, Chris Rinaman, Earl McIntyre, Kevin Louis, Dorian Parreott, Matt Musselman, Dan Peck, Andrew Barker, Evan Howard, Satoru Ohashi, Andrae Murchison, James Zollar, Frank London, Robert Stringer, T-Bone Davis, Ethan Shorter, Staffor Hunter, Mark Williams, Walt Szymanski, Ron Caswell Taylor Floreth, Dave Butler, Sam Merrick Jakubu Griffin, Herbert McCarver III..