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New Orleans Soul & Brass Party: Irma Thomas/Dirty Dozen Brass Band

New Orleans Soul & Brass Party: Irma Thomas/Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Internationally heralded as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans” singer Irma Thomas had her first hit single “You Can Have My Husband, But Don’t Mess with My Man” (1960) when she was just 19 years old. With a career spanning six decades, Thomas is a Louisiana Music Hall of Famer and GRAMMY Award winning artist. Growing up listening to Mahalia Jackson and Pearl Bailey, Thomas developed a rich vocal style with an awareness of what it means to be a true entertainer. She remains one of America’s most distinctive singers, a treasure from the golden age of soul music whose performances are as compelling and powerful as ever.

In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, antiquated traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, before bursting into jubilant tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late 70s, few of either existed. Thirty-seven years later, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (DDBB) is a world famous music ensemble whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances. The DDBB has maintained an appetite for musicological adventure, a commitment to honor tradition while not being constrained by it, and a healthy sense of humor. Whether reinvigorating standards or looking beyond the New Orleans songbook, the DDBB remains a wellspring of musical inspiration and a living, breathing embodiment of the Crescent City sound.

Savannah College of Art and Design