"Feel Like Funkin' It Up" - Rebirth Brass Band

"Feel Like Funkin' It Up" (PDF) from the Rebirth Brass Band album, Feel Like Funkin' It Up

(2022 revision):
Upon the news of New Orleans trombonist Keith “Wolf” Anderson’s passing, Treme actor Wendell Pierce remembered him as “a huge trombone sound, a soulful solo, and a musician squatting down in the groove” - the inspiration for Pierce’s own performance as Antoine Batiste.

Videos of Keith “Wolf” Anderson’s musical posturing were popular in the early days of YouTube - before celebrity influence and monetization - featuring the struggling musician single-handedly revitalizing the French Quarter in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As the city recovered, Anderson could be seen rolling with Hot 8 Brass Band, busking alongside clarinetist Doreen Ketchens, or simply keeping the ghosts who dance in the streets of New Orleans entertained. His Chicago roots brought the blues back to New Orleans as brass band music drifted away from traditional jazz and became a voice for the hip hop generation.

In 2021, the Save Our Brass foundation created the Wolf Fund, an assistance program that alleviates the funeral expenses for musicians, in recognition of the trombonist’s cultural contributions to the music of New Orleans.

Here is a YouTube video of Keith “Wolf” Anderson from 2006, chasing the hurricane away - “and the crowd went wild!”

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