Dirty Dozen Brass Band

With 2002's Medicated Magic, this group of ebullient New Orleans R&B vets broke through to a new audience hungry for the type of traditional sounds peddled by young musical neocons like Norah Jones (who actually contributed vocals to the disc's "Ruler of My Heart"); the Brass Band's party-hearty jazz-funk isn't...

By Mikael Wood

May 6, 2004

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With 2002's Medicated Magic, this group of ebullient New Orleans R&B vets broke through to a new audience hungry for the type of traditional sounds peddled by young musical neocons like Norah Jones (who actually contributed vocals to the disc's "Ruler of My Heart"); the Brass Band's party-hearty jazz-funk isn't exactly right for sipping lattes on lazy Sunday afternoons, but, like Jones' stuff, it feels timeless in a way that's attractive to seriously stressed dot-commers. Fresh from an energizing appearance on indie rockers Modest Mouse's new CD, the Dozen provides more of that organic grit on Funeral for a Friend, another slice of horn-driven beauty that's no less vivified for being an homage to New Orleans' jazz funeral tradition (and to original member Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen, who died following the album's completion). Really, that's what makes it go, whether in the denatured gospel drone of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" or the effervescent street shuffle of "Please Let Me Stay a Little Longer," where acoustic guitar leads the charge. Consider it the group's own magic medication.

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