Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble -- an eight-strong cohort of horn-playing brothers (plus one unrelated drummer) who take their stylistic cues from jazz, funk, hip-hop, and various strains of world music -- started out playing on the streets of Chicago, New York, and elsewhere, selling their self-released CDs and gradually building a loyal following and an international profile. The youngest of some 23 children -- the offspring of different mothers, but all sons of jazz trumpeter and composer Kelan Phil Cohran (a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra and co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) -- Gabriel Hubert (trumpet), Tycho Cohran (sousaphone), Amal Hubert (trumpet), Uttama Hubert (euphonium), Saiph Graves (trombone), Jafar Graves (trumpet), Seba Graves (trombone), and Tarik Graves (trumpet) all grew up together in Chicago, watching their father rehearse with his band Circle of Sound, playing together in the Phil Cohran Youth Ensemble, and later writing rhymes as the rap group Wolf Pak.
Following the 1996 death of one of their older brothers, which shook up the family and prompted some of its farther-flung members to return to their hometown, the brothers, then mostly in their teens, began to coalesce into a more focused and business-oriented group. They started setting up around Chicago's streets and El stations to perform their original, collectively developed compositions, which call to mind the sound of traditional New Orleans big-band jazz and nod to the avant-garde angularity of their father and his contemporaries, but are equally informed by the rhythmic drive and accessible simplicity of hip-hop. Later they began recording and self-releasing CD-Rs, beginning with 2004's Flipside (aka Orange) and 2005's Jupiter (Green) -- the band's early releases all feature the same cover photograph and eponymous title, so they're referred to by the color of their sleeves and the names of key tracks -- which eventually sold hundreds of thousands of copies entirely through self-promotion.
After relocating to New York City, touring worldwide, and gigging with the likes of Mos Def and Erykah Badu, they caught the ear of Honest Jon's Records' Alan Scholefield while playing on the street in London, thereby initiating a fruitful partnership that resulted in several single releases and a handful of live and recorded collaborations (including a session with Afro-beat legend Tony Allen and dates supporting Blur). In 2009 Honest Jon's issued their first widely available full-length: yet another self-titled album, primarily featuring re-recordings of their earlier material, along with renditions of Moondog's "Rabbit Hop" and their father's "Alyo." Although the group has played with several different regular drummers over the years, including Christopher Anderson and Gabriel Wallace, most of the rhythm duties on this release were handled by likeminded British hired guns Sola Akingbola (Jamiroquai) andMalcolm Catto (Heliocentrics.)
© K. Ross Hoffman /TiVo
Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Jazz - Released by Honest Jon's Records on May 8, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Space
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, yasiin bey
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Pheelco Entertainment Inc on Aug 10, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Book of Sound
Electronic - Released by Honest Jon's Records on Nov 10, 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This is a Mindfulness Drill: A Reimagining of Richard Youngs' 'Sapphie'
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jagjaguwar on Jun 25, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BAD BOYS OF JAZZ
Jazz - Released by Fat Beats Records on Sep 11, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Detroit Red
Jazz - Released by Pheelco Entertainment Inc on Apr 27, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Fullness Of Light In Your Soul (feat. Perfume Genius)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jagjaguwar on Jun 9, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sound Rhythm & Form
Jazz - Released by PHEELCO ENTERTAINMENT on Apr 18, 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hypnotic Joints
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Pheelco Entertainment Inc. on Oct 11, 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BAD BOYS OF JAZZ (INSTRUMENTALS)
Jazz - Released by Fat Beats Records on Sep 11, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soon It Will Be Fire (feat. Moses Sumney)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Moses Sumney
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jagjaguwar on May 6, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fly: The Customs Prelude
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by PHEELCO ENTERTAINMENT on Jul 25, 2013
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
IN THE HOUSE
Jazz - Released by Fat Beats Records on Aug 28, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hypnotic Joints, Vol. II
Soul - Released by Pheelco Entertainment Inc on Mar 12, 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -