"D-Boy" - New Birth Brass Band
“D-Boy” (PDF) from the New Birth Brass Band album, D-Boy.
Trombonist Darnell Andrews, brother of New Birth’s trumpeter James Andrews, was perhaps more accomplished on the horn than his shorty brother Troy Andrews. Judging by the legacy that Troy established in his brother’s absence, it’s difficult to imagine the kind of heights that “D-Boy” would’ve reached as another musical giant from the Andrews family, which includes cousins Glen David Andrews, Derrick Tabb, and grandfather Jessie Hill.
But Darnell’s legacy was cemented by Eric Waters in a 1995 photo of Lois Nelson, Darnell’s mother, dancing on top of the murdered teenager’s casket as it was carried in his funeral parade. The image of musical grief is a reminder that while brass band parades celebrate the passing of life, they are also a spatial occupation and public demonstration of the present-day tragedies and systemic violence that prohibit forward progress within a community.
On this recording in honor of Darnell Andrews, trombonists Corey Henry and Reginald Steward both take solos. The first utilizes rhythms to set itself apart from the groove, maintaining a melodic range within one octave, while the second solo extends that range and exaggerates the rhythmic phrasing. The contrasting styles both capture the disbelief and frantic madness in which the other band members are left only to ask, “Who did it? Who did it?”
Here is a YouTube video from Deborah “Big Red” Cotton of such a funeral parade:
Recommended reading: Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans by Matt Sakakeeny. Published by Duke University Press.