Brass bands are truly New Orleans’ most unique contribution to contemporary music. Well, maybe brass bands and Lil Wayne. The high school marching band programs in the city are unparalleled, and we are all beneficiaries as they practice year-round in neighborhood school yards, march in Mardi Gras parades, and go on to form bands of their own. These bands play in world renowned jazz funerals, second line parades and on street corners of Frenchmen Street.

Brass bands have long been an influence on me creatively, as I incorporated the rhythms and sounds of New Orleans brass into electronic music I’ve created over the last two decades. Being a New Orleans based artist, the pull to create “New Orleans-y Art” can be strong. But this is a subject matter that is near and dear to me, and genuinely reflects a significant part of who I am.

I started this series with a vision in my head of marching band members walking past, depicted in profile. As I captured photos of bands at parades with this idea in mind, one band stopped right in front of me and I got some fantastic shots of the tuba player. I knew right away that he would be the focal point, featuring the abstract shapes and distortions reflected in the shine his sousaphone. 

My process for creating these pieces was slightly different. I needed to finish all three digital illustrations before even touching the first canvas with paint, in order to ensure that the color palette worked across all three portraits. The colors in these paintings are strikingly vibrant, and the hues of the instruments in particular exceeded expectations.