Onward Brass Band
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The Onward Brass Band was the name of two brass bands active in New Orleans for extended periods of time.
[edit] Onward Brass Band (ca. 1886-1930)
This incarnation of the Onward Brass Band played often in its early history at picnics, festivals, parades, and baseball games. It was under the leadership of Joseph Othello Lainez, a cornetist, by 1887, and quickly became as popular as the longstanding Excelsior Brass Band and Pickwick Brass Band. After 1903, Manuel Perez led the ensemble. The group typically held between 10 and 12 players, with three cornets or trumpets, two trombones, two clarinets, an alto horn, a baritone horn, a tuba, a snare drum, and a bass drum. Perez changed the group's name to the Imperial Brass Band in the middle of the 1920s; it disbanded in 1930. Among the group's members were Isidore Barbarin, George Filhe, Lorenzo Tio, Peter Bocage, George Baquet, and King Oliver.
[edit] Onward Brass Band (1960-ca. 1988)
In 1960, Paul Barbarin revived the name Onward Brass Band for a new ensemble patterned after the old group. Barbarin led the group until 1969, after which time Louis Cottrell, Jr. took over. Placide Adams took over the band after the death of Louis Cottrell. Jr. in 1978 and played with ensembles under this name until near the end of the 1980s. This band recorded albums in 1965 and 1974 and consisted of eight to ten players, hewing strictly to traditional brass band practices. Its members included Cag Cagnolatti, Kid Howard, Andrew Morgan, Joe Thomas, Louis Barbarin, Alvin Alcorn, Danny Barker, and Freddie Kohlman.
[edit] References
- Schafer/Kinzer, "Onward Brass Band". Grove Jazz online.
- Scott Yanow, Onward Brass Band at All Music Guide
