Wednesday: Wild Iris Brass Band – Way Up

Laissez les bontemps rouler, with this wonderful new tribute to the great New Orleans brass band tradition. Saxophonist Jeff Coffin (of the Flecktones and his Mu’Tet) and trombonist Ray Mason conceived this band back in 2021, when they led a 20-minute French Quarter-style parade through their Nashville neighborhood during the Covid lockdown for the 50^th birthday of a friend who longed to spend it in New Orleans. Now we have this new release, with Emmanuel Echem on trumpet, Jovan Quallo on alto sax, Neil Konouchi on sousaphone, Justin Amaral on drums & percussion, and rounding out the brass band party is Ryoko Suzuki on tambourine. Plus there are guest appearances by Bela Fleck, Steven Bernstein, Bernardo Auilar and others. (The wild iris, by the way, is the state flower of Tennessee.)