SugarTone Brass Band
New York City, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
If the music of New Orleans can be likened to gumbo—little tasty bits of everything—then SugarTone Brass Band are the soul food chefs in the kitchen stirring up the pot.
Many influences shine through in the play: marches, the Caribbean, early jazz, gospel, James Brown... You name it, it’s in there. And it’s music that gets in you.
Indiana local Nathan Warner is one SugarTone’s two trumpeters.
“The ‘sound’ is really the whole being the sum of its parts. Starting with our co-founder, Moses Patrou, would be a good idea. Moses’ voice is brilliant. Not quite sure how a Greek-American from Wisconsin can be blessed with a voice like that, but it’s sure proof that God exists and that he loves music,” says Warner.
“Moses and Yorel Lashley work hard to keep a tight pocket in our percussion department. This is what really keeps our dancers moving.
“Kenny Bentley, our tuba player, went to grad school with me and is a masterful player. He’s also an electric bass player, so he’s fully-schooled in supported from down below. He also, when he wants to, can blow the entire band away with some subterranean cannon shots. His ability to groove with the drums is vital.
“The horns in this group are really special. Jon Irabagon is a fantastic saxophonist who understands the unique intensity that the instrument brings to a brass band. He’s never shy. Timmy Vaughn is an original member who always has a “special” sense of humor in everything he does, including his trombone playing. We’re lucky to have had him since the beginning.
"Roland Barber is a powerful, blues-hollering trombonist from Nashville, Tennessee. His twin brother, Rashaan, was our tenor player for a while. Roland always reminds us to pay our respects to the blues. I asked Tim to join the band when we decided to expand. He’s got a great sound on that horn and has really fallen in love with this music. Quite often, his solos leave me with a big smile on my face.
“As for me, I’m just trying to blend with them. I really try to keep the same vibe as the trombones most of the time, with a meaty, big, in-your-face sound."
SugarTone's new CD, Live in Brooklyn, hits stores within the next few weeks. Until then, you can catch them live in concert at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at 7:30 pm on January 30, 2008. - DPAC News
If the music of New Orleans can be likened to gumbo—little tasty bits of everything—then SugarTone Brass Band are the soul food chefs in the kitchen stirring up the pot.
Many influences shine through in the play: marches, the Caribbean, early jazz, gospel, James Brown... You name it, it’s in there. And it’s music that gets in you.
Indiana local Nathan Warner is one SugarTone’s two trumpeters.
“The ‘sound’ is really the whole being the sum of its parts. Starting with our co-founder, Moses Patrou, would be a good idea. Moses’ voice is brilliant. Not quite sure how a Greek-American from Wisconsin can be blessed with a voice like that, but it’s sure proof that God exists and that he loves music,” says Warner.
“Moses and Yorel Lashley work hard to keep a tight pocket in our percussion department. This is what really keeps our dancers moving.
“Kenny Bentley, our tuba player, went to grad school with me and is a masterful player. He’s also an electric bass player, so he’s fully-schooled in supported from down below. He also, when he wants to, can blow the entire band away with some subterranean cannon shots. His ability to groove with the drums is vital.
“The horns in this group are really special. Jon Irabagon is a fantastic saxophonist who understands the unique intensity that the instrument brings to a brass band. He’s never shy. Timmy Vaughn is an original member who always has a “special” sense of humor in everything he does, including his trombone playing. We’re lucky to have had him since the beginning.
"Roland Barber is a powerful, blues-hollering trombonist from Nashville, Tennessee. His twin brother, Rashaan, was our tenor player for a while. Roland always reminds us to pay our respects to the blues. I asked Tim to join the band when we decided to expand. He’s got a great sound on that horn and has really fallen in love with this music. Quite often, his solos leave me with a big smile on my face.
“As for me, I’m just trying to blend with them. I really try to keep the same vibe as the trombones most of the time, with a meaty, big, in-your-face sound."
SugarTone's new CD, Live in Brooklyn, hits stores within the next few weeks. Until then, you can catch them live in concert at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at 7:30 pm on January 30, 2008. - DPAC News
Discography
Live In Brooklyn (2008)
Fourth Man Down (2012)
Photos
Bio
Sugartone Brass Band has been Funkin up the brass band scene in New York City for over a decade. Influenced by the sounds of New Orleans Brass Bands, such as The Rebirth Brass Band, New Birth Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band to name a few, Sugartone Brass Band got its start in the basement studio of founder Moses Patrou in Brooklyn, NY, the summer of 2002. In 2003, the band started its first residency on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the Gin Mill on Amsterdam Ave. In 2007, Sugartone released its first album, "Live in Brooklyn. Sugartone continued its Upper West Side residency in 2008 at Jacques-Imos restaurant, a cafe fashioned after the famous Jacques-Imos restaurant in New Orleans. After the unfortunate closing of Jacques-Imos, Sugartone moved to a new restaurant in 2010 on the famous Restaurant Row in Midtown Manhattan, called Bourbon Street Bar and Grill. In 2012, Sugartone moved uptown to Harlem and played every Wednesday night at the Harlem Tavern. The bands second album, "Fourth Man Down," was released shortly afterwards in February of 2012. They have appeared on MTV's "Making the Band," the James Beard Awards Show, the New York Burlesque Festival and on several tours across the United States.
See more info at http://www.sugartone.com
Band Members
Links
