Riot Jazz Brass Band: Guest Selector

The start of Manchester Jazz Festival promises to get off to a rowdy start thanks to the Riot Jazz Brass Band’s opening night set. The group’s genre-blending back catalogue of jazz, hip-hop, dubstep and drum‘n’bass-infused tracks will ensure the festival’s 100-show-strong programme starts as it means to go on, while the band's unique energy is the perfect way to introduce the new Albert Square Salon Perdu stage. Ahead of their performance at the 22nd edition of the ten day event, some members of the band present you with the tracks they love. What better way to get in the festival spirit? 

Tennyson – Like What
“I love this track because of the huge variety of sounds and textures. It's a piece of music which develops and grows through its changes in textures and instrumentation, which I think is a very classical technique. I love taking aspects of electronic / production music and using them in the live brass band environment, so hearing classical orchestration techniques in the electronic environment – as in this tune – is fascinating.” Steve Pycroft, drums

No BS! Brass Band – 3am Bounce
“My personal favourite of the brass bands operating out of the US at the moment, although not that widely known unfortunately! These guys are incredible brass players and I'm a big fan of their original stuff which is always played with serious groove!” Sam Warner, trumpet

Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy (Jonny Miller Edit)
“I made a rather late arrival to Fela Kuti’s music but I am ever thankful I did. The energy and life in his music is so powerful. The percussion really drives the songs and creates irresistible grooves. His music is really fun to enter a trance and solo over. This slightly uptempo rework makes a great end-of-the-night tune and contains an extremely catchy horn line.” Ed Horsey, trombone

Count Basie Big Band – I Needs to Be Bee'd With (Live) 
“One of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite live albums [Live at the Sands (Before Frank)]. Basie's band always packs that punch you can only get from a good brass section. And there's a killer Al Grey trombone solo too, what's not to love!” Kieran McLeod, trombone

Michael Brecker – Midnight Voyage
“I loved this track from the first time I heard it in the late 90s. This simple, moody minor blues by Joey Calderazzo introduced me to Brecker's music and this album remains one of my all time favourites.” Pete Robinson, sousaphone

Chicago – Feelin' Stronger Every Day
“Chicago is my favourite band for many reasons, one of which is they do not label their music or limit themselves to a genre. This is something I personally value very highly, and something Riot Jazz does naturally. Their style is rather defined by their superb composition and arranging, horn-heavy texture, multi-layered vocal parts, and exceptional live performance. Feelin' Stronger Every Day is a quintessential Chicago tune which combines all these elements into a gloriously energetic musical celebration. It never fails to make me happy whenever I listen to it.” Lucian Amos, trumpet

Too Many Zooz – Warriors
“This is probably one of the more chilled tracks to come out of this New York based trio but it definitely packs a punch. They incorporate a lot of space into this tune with short repetitive lines from the two horns and fairly minimal percussion throughout which makes the drops feel like they have a big weight behind them. I'm always impressed by the energy these guys create live (videos of them busking and dancing in the subway are definitely worth checking out!), but this track has such a nice simplistic groove and easy sounding power that I always find myself coming back to it.” Rich Mcveigh, trombone

Youngblood Brass Band – Camouflage
“Youngblood are one of the best brass bands around, and a key influence of ours when getting the band up and running – they even coined the term 'Riot Jazz' from which we take our name. Camouflage is one of our favourite tracks of theirs, we used to cover this song in our sets and it would be guaranteed to go off every time!” Nick Walters, trumpet

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Riot Jazz Brass Band play Salon Perdu, Albert Square, Manchester, 28 Jul
Manchester Jazz Festival takes place across various venues in Manchester, 28 Jul-6 Aug
Riot Jazz Brass Band also play La Belle Angèle, Edinburgh, 13 Aug
www.riotjazz.com
www.manchesterjazz.com