Checking out Block No. 77 playing this week, with its brass heavy sounds put me in mind of the first time I heard a live performance by the Macedonian Brass Band “Kocani.” I’ve been a fan of Balkan Brass Bands ever since. My next encounter was during a trip to Katmandu. I was in a taxi stuck in a traffic jam, and suddenly was surrounded by a mass of musicians all playing brass instruments and jogging along. They threaded their way through the traffic and disappeared, leaving me gasping “What was THAT?” the taxi driver merely answered — “It is wedding season. Everyone has a brass band at their wedding.” The brass band appears in cultures too numerous to list here but one thing is certain — it’s more versatile than most of us think!

Michal Shapiro
Associate Director of Music Programming

Here are Brass Bands from the Balkans, plus Africa, India and Mexico.