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The sheer joy and exuberance of the Wild Iris Brass Band – the Nashville-based, New Orleans-informed brass band co-founded by saxophonist Jeff Coffin and trombonist Ray Mason – is immediately audible to every listener. Throughout WAY UP, Coffin and Mason blend compositional sophistication with the spontaneous energy of the street, drawing on their decades of experience in jazz, funk, pop, and global traditions to craft music that feels both timeless and current, at once rooted and searching. Celebrating and honoring the timeless New Orleans tradition that has kept people dancing for over a century, the Wild Iris Brass Band takes the familiar and blends it with sounds from across the world, and sounds local to Nashville. With a loaded roster and a star-studded guest list, WAY UP proves to be a remarkable debut.

The Wild Iris Brass Band was founded in a manner that is rightly reflective of the mirth that it brings. In 2021, well amidst the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coffin had a close friend who was about to celebrate his 50th birthday. The friend had previously remarked to Coffin that he’d always imagined himself sitting in New Orleans, drinking coffee and watching a brass band, to celebrate his half-century, but due to the travel restrictions was unable. Coffin, being a man not easily daunted, reached out to Mason, who had recently become his neighbor, and the two began scheming up a short New Orleans set, united by a shared love of the brass band tradition. Sure enough, come the morning of his friend’s birthday, Coffin and Mason assembled a brass band that came marching down the road, performing a 20-minute set of New Orleans traditional brass band repertoire.

After the initial thrill of surprising a friend, Coffin and Mason decided that the brass band was too much fun to abandon. What initially began as Coffin and Mason gathering to compose and arrange tunes soon developed into the formation of a full-fledged brass band, resulting in the establishment of the Wild Iris Brass Band.  The Wild Iris is comprised of Jeff Coffin (soprano, tenor, baritone, and electro-sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Ray Mason (trombone), Emmanuel Echem (trumpet), Jovan Quallo (alto saxophone), Neil Konouchi (sousaphone), Justin Amaral (drums, percussion), and Ryoko Suzuki (tambourine). WAY UP showcases the band and invites a host of friends and collaborators to the fore, including Bela Fleck (banjo), Steven Bernstein (electric slide trumpet), Bernardo Aguiar (Brazilian percussion), Bob Lanzetti (guitar), Weedie Braimah (djembe, congas), and Yuko Bannai (additional vocals). 

Musically, much of the content on this album was composed by Coffin and Mason, with demo recordings created exclusively by the two of them during the mid-pandemic period, prior to assembling a full band lineup. This process influenced a distinctive compositional approach, resulting in a dynamic sound that gradually expands outward on certain tracks, such as “To The Bone”. Notably, due to the broad musical mastery of both co-founders, WAY UP blends styles beyond what is typically heard in a New Orleans brass band. Yet even this aligns with the history of New Orleans as a port city that was a melting pot for cultures and styles.

Label Contact:

Alex Mathews

amathews0126@gmail.com