“In the band’s dizzyingly gorgeous horn lines, rolling vamps carry sunny African chorales, and polyrhythmic voodoo grooves host harmonies that slide in all directions at once. The music just plain sings.” —New York Times
Hailing from the West African nation of Benin, the eight-piece Gangbé Brass Band (the sound of metal) assembles trumpets, saxes, trombones, sousaphone, and metal bell percussion that exemplify the mix of musical inspiration percolating in the region. Their horn arrangements belie a gamut of influences, from Nigerian Afrobeat and American jazz to Cuban mambo and New Orleans marching bands. Singing in multiple indigenous languages in addition to French, the band creates rhythms firmly rooted in the voodoo culture of their ancestors—an inspired sound that personifies the global nature of Africa now. Copresented with the Cedar Cultural Center.
