The only New Orleans style brass band based in Minneapolis, the Jack Brass Band (JBB) has been enthralling audiences since 1999. Mixing the Big Easy’s traditions with old-time blues, rock, hip-hop, pop, funk and reggae, this group has impressed no less than Wynton Marsalis, who noted, “If you like your gumbo spicy and your music hot, check out the Jack Brass Band.” Audiences can check out Jack Brass at the Times Bar and Café on Jan. 11 as part of the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s “Jazz from J to Z” season.

JBB founder and bass drummer Mike Olander modeled the Jack Brass after the famed Dirty Dozen Brass Band, bringing the revival of the New Orleans brass bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s to Minnesota, and with it the syncopation of the famed “second line” bands melded with rap and other modern sounds. Olander notes that “The New Orleans brass bands consist of a rhythm section (or back line) of sousaphone (tuba) and two drummers. That’s the tradition and what we have based our instrumentation around. The front line is the horns (trumpets, saxophone, trombones).” Jack Brass opened for the Rebirth Brass Band at Jazz Fest in 2004 and, in the wake of Katrina, helped raise funds and sent instruments south to help revitalize and maintain the music traditions that the group has helped celebrate in the Midwest.