Rebirth Brass Band

Few ensembles have carried the sound of New Orleans as far as Rebirth Brass Band. Formed in 1983 in the Tremé neighborhood by Phillip “Tuba Phil” Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, and classmates from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School, the group took cues from The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, folding funk and bebop into traditional brass band music. Before fame, they busked for tips around the French Quarter and soon became the house band at the Glass House, the Dirty Dozen’s former home venue.

Their breakthrough came quickly: after being discovered at the 1982 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival scene, Arhoolie released their first album in 1984. In 2012, the band won the Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album in the category’s inaugural year and performed at the pre-telecast ceremony of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. Their sound has also reached the screen, with appearances in “Skeleton Key” (2005) and the documentary “The Whole Gritty City” (2013).

Beyond the stage, snare drummer Derrick Tabb co-founded The Roots of Music in 2007, an after-school program for at-risk children ages 9–14 in Orleans Parish mentored by Rebirth members. Tabb was a 2009 CNN Heroes finalist and earned proclamations from the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana.