"You Got Yours" - New Birth Brass Band

“You Got Yours” (PDF) from the New Birth Brass Band album, D-Boy.

As the arpeggiated tuba riff from Kerwin James opens this New Birth original tune, the shout out to the Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs of New Orleans is a call to action for the best second line dance moves to the beat on the street, specifically from the Tremé Sidewalk Steppers and Furious Five. Historian Matt Sakakeeny accounts the storied relationship between the Sidewalk Steppers and Rebirth Brass Band for evolving the second line traditions, while Music Rising at Tulane describes the Furious Five as a branch of the Young Men Olympian benevolent society in preservation of dignified Black traditions, but however you choose to celebrate, “you got yours and I got mine” and we can all get down with that.

Once again, New Birth provides trombone solos from both Corey Henry and Reginald Steward that reflect two different approaches to the parade music. The first trombone solo tends to stay within a limited range, stressing the b3, blues scale, and b7 in the middle register, while relying on syncopated rhythms to set itself apart from the groove. The second solo is a bit more dexterous while stressing the upper register of the horn, falling back into the blues scale when necessary but also making creative use of half-steps and ascending intervals to create harmonic tension. The contrasting styles are essential for varying the excitement levels and controlling the crowd’s energy as the parade moves throughout the neighborhoods.

Here is a YouTube video from Deborah “Big Red” Cotton featuring New Birth Brass Band rolling with the Tremé Sidewalk Steppers:

Recommended reading: Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans by Matt Sakakeeny. Published by Duke University Press.