Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

I was in NYC for the Big East Basketball Tournament last week, feasting on incredible ball, walking 7th Avenue back and forth from the DoubleTree in Times Square to the Garden, twice a day for the double headers. As I’m walking back from the Garden and approaching 42nd Street on Thursday afternoon, I hear the distinctive sound of a brass band, a few blocks away, thinking that it’s probably a bunch of kids from one of the schools that got knocked out of the tournament that day from one of the two early games. But, as I get closer, I start hearing Latin, Reggae, odd syncopated rhythms, this was no college marching band! In front of the Subway sandwich shop on 7th near 42nd, was a group of guys playing the most hypnotic and trance like jazz-jam-reggae that I have ever heard; trying to sell their CDs to the sizeable crowd which had gathered to listen to them. I had never heard of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, but I made sure to catch their name. Incredibly, they were still there playing, two hours later, when I walked past on my way back to the Garden for the late games! That night when I got back to my hotel, I immediately started searching for this incredible group. I found theirMySpace page and blog, and also downloaded their first two recordings from iTunes. If you like music that you can’t stop bobbing your head to, that makes you want to get up and dance, or just puts a huge smile on your face – give these guys from Chicago a shot!