The Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band stands as an internationally acclaimed standard-bearer of New Orleans brass band heritage, fusing that lineage with second-line rhythms, funk, jazz, soul, and hip-hop. Originating from the now-closed Joseph S. Clark Senior High School in Treme within the Lower Ninth Ward, the ensemble shares with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and New Birth Brass Band the dual role of preserving tradition while extending its reach through recordings and live performances. Beyond issuing dozens of their own projects since the 1980s, the group contributed to albums by Trombone Shorty, Robbie Robertson, John Fogerty, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and appeared repeatedly in the HBO docudrama Treme. Four releases spanning 2000's Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf Bar to 2014's Move Your Body reached the jazz and blues charts in the United States, while four singles—among them their take on the NOLA standard "When the Saints Go Marching In" and 2013's "Do Whatcha Wanna"—entered the Top 40 on sales charts.
Phil Frazier on tuba, his brother Keith Frazier on bass drum, and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins established the Rebirth Brass Band in 1983. Economic pressures of touring with a large ensemble through the 1990s and beyond prompted frequent membership shifts; Ruffins, who later built a solo career as a trumpeter and bandleader, remained until 1994, and trumpeter Shamarr Allen departed to pursue independent work that included theater performances alongside Willie Nelson's band.
A pivotal development occurred when Allison Miner took on management duties during the 1980s. Drawing on her New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival connections, she arranged appearances at major festivals across the United States and Europe. The band's recording history began modestly with Arhoolie Records, the small imprint operated by musicologist Chris Strachwitz, which issued the debut Here to Stay in 1984. By 1989 the group had moved to Rounder Records for Feel Like Funkin' It Up, followed by additional well-regarded releases throughout the 1990s; in 2008 they issued 25th Anniversary on their own imprint.
Ultimately, the ensemble's impact rests less on recorded output alone, although 2011's Rebirth of New Orleans performed strongly on jazz radio playlists thanks to the broad audience cultivated over decades. Founder Phil Frazier has expressed pride in the varied crowds—spanning ages and ethnic backgrounds—that regularly attend shows in New Orleans and throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, drawn to the blend of classic R&B, New Orleans funk, soul, rock, and jazz. That same album earned the band's first Grammy, for Best Regional Roots Music Album, in 2012.
Two years afterward the group delivered Move Your Body. Extensive touring then delayed further studio work until the August 2019 release of Live at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2019 on Munck Music, which received a nomination for Best Regional Roots Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
