Take your date to see Hot 8 at Summer of Jazz in Glenwood Springs

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Take a listen to the Hot 8 Brass Band, and chances are, you won't be able to classify them. Imagine something energetic and fun, with clapping hands and chanting, pounding drums and a horn section that makes you want to get up and dance.

And that's just their cover of "Sexual Healing."

"If jazz were a food, it would be like a jazz gumbo," said front man Bennie "Big Peter" Pete.

He was laughing from somewhere at a gig in Nebraska. He went on to call Hot 8's mix of rap, reggae and marching band beats "feel good music." The point here isn't perfection. It's bigger than that.

"The music, I use it as a tool to inspire other people. But, I mean, in return it inspires me the most," he said. "Just to do it and perform it and then see people react to it. I mean, that's just the ultimate feeling for me."

He talked like he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

One of the first musicians in his family, he started making noise back in the sixth grade in New Orleans. Like most of the other kids in the school marching band, he wanted to play the drums. He was saddled with the tuba instead. At first, it hurt his shoulder, but he kept at it. As a teenager, he formed the Looney Tunes Brass Band (as "just a hobby thing" he explained). After graduating high school, a lot of the members went on to college or marriage. When it came to music, they wanted to "put that away." But not Pete. In 1995, four Looney Tunes guys joined four players from the High Steppers Brass Band. Hot 8 was hatched.

For the first decade, they stuck around their hometown. It made sense, being in such a musical mecca, to stay. They played street corners, shows and jazz funerals, and all the while they were listening to their audience, learning and changing up their songs as they went.

Then, the storm hit.

"There was no more work," Pete said, about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "No more work. Nowhere."

Not only that, but something had changed in the town when it came to music. The city he loved (and still does) raised the taxes on parades and cracked down on street playing. The band was faced with prospect of hanging around broke or trying to make it wherever they were evacuated. They chose neither.

Tonight at Summer of Jazz Who: The Hot 8 Brass Band, doing it up right at the Summer of Jazz When: 7 p.m. Where: Two Rivers Park in Glenwood Springs Cost: Free More information: www.myspace.com/hot8brassband, www.baylinartists.com/hot8.htm

They felt responsible to the New Orleans' musical masters that had come before them, he explained. They realized it was time to share their sound.

"So, since we owed them, we are the culture bearers for the people, let's get our act together and take it on the road, and see if the world will grasp it and take it for what it's worth," he went on.

From the looks of it, the world has. In the last few years, Hot 8 has become a traveling force, bringing a bit of New Orleans soul to the rest of the country (and the world). They've met famous fans and been featured on National Public Radio. In 2006, they were shown in Spike Lee's mini-series, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."

Pete, however, didn't harp on their success. That kind of stuff only makes it easier for him and his band to do what he feels they need to. He wants to make people happy, even if it's just for a few songs. In his experience, that's just what music does.

"It's a healing tool, and we use it to heal people wherever we go," he said. "And if it doesn't heal one person, it's going to heal us. So it's a win-win situation from our point of view."

To him, the link between pain and creativity is thick. He likened the music he's making now to the artwork and songs that slaves created. They only had one day, Sunday, to meet, and they weren't going to waste it. Yeah, Pete gets that. He's coming from a town with some of the worst education in the country. He's coming from a band that's lost multiple members to handgun violence. In his words, he's coming from a city, from a culture, stuck in a "downer state of mind."

But when he's playing, don't be listening for any depression.

"When it's time to perform, we feel good about ourselves. We feel like we're in control of our life," he said. "We're in control of the atmosphere that's taking place at that time. So, with all that power and feeling of control, control of yourself and the music, you don't want to ruin it by feeling, by playing something sad, because you've only got one shot at it."

Talking about that spark, he sounded most vital. His words turned around, and he started going on about the great parts of his hometown ("The best city and the best town ever," in his opinion). Despite its problems, it's a place where so many people are awake to music. He described a typical weekday, where you could hear folks "blowing horns under the trees" or leading an impromptu musical parade, with hundreds in attendance.

"And that, right there, in itself, is just amazing," he said. "And it's a blessing."

He didn't act like he had any answers for the city - not for the FEMA trailers or violence or lack of jobs. He just sounded committed to what he was doing. As "dignitaries" of New Orleans, he and his crew also do free outreach, teaching youngsters about their history, about how to play instruments. Even at a show like tonight's, he seemed sure the music was going to touch people. He just about promised it.

"Tell them to buckle their seat belts," he said, in a shout-out to the audience, "because we're going to take them on a ride."

Contact Stina Sieg: 384-9111
ssieg@postindependent.com



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