Gig Alert: Rebirth Brass Band with Snarky Puppy, Fatty Lumpkin Tonight at The Granada

By Darryl Smyers Wed., Mar. 11 2009 at 4:21 PM

Last night, it was the blues with Pop Carter. So tonight I thought I'd recommend some jazz.

And I'm not talking about some lame ass "jazz lite" a la Kenny G. I'm talking about the soulful, funky kind of jazz. The mind-bending, shape-shifting kind of jazz. The stuff that flows from all three artists on tonight's terrific triple bill at The Granada.

Hailing out of New Orleans, the Rebirth Brass Band was founded in 1982 by brothers Phillip and Keith Frazier. The band's 25th anniversary album, 25!, came out last year and showed that the band hasn't lost any of its original intensity. Heralded for combining traditional New Orleans brass band music with funk, soul and hip-hop influences, the Frazier brothers are capable of bringing down just about any house.

Adding to the evening's festivities will be two of North Texas' best purveyors of the genre, Snarky Puppy and Fatty Lumpkin. As some of you may recall, Denton's Snarky Puppy was the winner of "the best jazz band" at last year's Dallas Observer Music Awards. Led by bassist Michael League, the band continues to expand its horizons, incorporating everything from Parliament to Zappa into its heady and heated brew.

Also hailing from Denton is Fatty Lumpkin, a progressive funk band that features the talents of guitarist Kelyn Crapp. A guy with a name like that has to know his way around his instrument. Fatty Lumpkin's debut effort came out last year and it's a pretty solid bet that the band will make its way through the majority of it this evening.