The parade music of New Orleans is rooted in the war chants of Native Americans, specifically the Mardi Gras Indians, combined with the Afro-Cuban rhythms of Congo Square, and presented in the form of European and American military bands.
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In the early 1980’s, the 2 Tone ska band The Specials recorded “Ghost Town” as an examination of the economic strife throughout the United Kingdom. A generation later, the Hot 8 Brass Band adopted the #1 hit song to rebuild the cultural voice of New Orleans, a city washed away by Hurricane Katrina.
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Hot 8 trombonist Joseph “Shotgun Joe” Williams was unarmed when he was killed at the age of 22 by the New Orleans Police Department, but no reasonable explanation has ever been provided.
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According to trumpeter Raymond Williams’ biography, he was given the nickname “Dr. Rackle” by his mentor Jackie McLean as a title for his group of “Sound Griots,” or musical sages, and has been an integral part of shaping and arranging the Hot 8 sound of the streets into a Grammy nominated work of art, earning himself the second nickname, “The Fine Tuner.”
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