To a land where joys will never end

By A Free Man on March 13th, 2008

“When the shadows of this life have gone
I’ll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I’ll fly
I’ll fly away…”

-”I’ll Fly Away” – Traditional Hymn

On the rare occasions that I get homesick for the U.S. it’s for the Deep South, where I spent about half of my life and the good part of my formative years. The two things that I miss most about Dixie are the food and the music. New Orleans is kind of the hub for both of those things down south. When I heard the The Hot 8 Brass Band’s version of “Fly Away” the sounds, tastes and smells of Big Easy hit me almost viscerally.

A New Orleans jazz cover of an old Baptist hymn is a little bit of a departure for a music site that’s been focusing on up and coming indie artists. But, The Hot 8 Brass Band is so good that I just had to . Their version of “I’ll Fly Away” is more spiritually uplifting than anything you’re likely to hear in a church. This is classic New Orleans jazz, but it doesn’t fall into the trap of sounding like a pale tribute act. The Hot 8 boys are spontaneous, funky, improvisational and even a little sloppy sometimes. They spoon some rock, a little funk, a dash of soul and hip-hop to taste into their pot and mix it up into an irresistible gumbo.

I’ve posted “Fly Away” as well as The Hot 8 Brass Band’s cover of the Marvin Gaye classic “Sexual Healing”. If you like these two tracks then check out “Rock with the Hot 8 Brass Band” – available from Amazon, or eMusic.