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Here’s a few photos I made of Brass Mafia playing at the 2007 Fillmore Street Jazz Festival on July 1, 2007.

Joe Cohen, Saxes
Danny Grewen, Trombone/Vocals
Colin Hogan, Keys/Accordion
Pat Korte, Drums/Vocals
Mike Olmos, Trumpet
Joel Ryan, Trumpet
Emily Schmidt, Vocals
Adam Theis, Sousaphone

Here’s another installment from the ever-tantalizing, and now revitalized Jazz Mafia Tuesdays live at Bruno’s. It was Mike Olmos’s birthday, and the boys were goin’ off as usual. Low End Theory opened the first set, and then Brass Mafia took the stage for the second set. Here’s a slammin’ fifteen-minute audio sample from the second set for your listening pleasure. And make sure to get yourself down to Bruno’s on Tuesday nights!

 Fela Medley [15:20m]: Play Now | Download

The Jazz Mafia Crew are finally back playing in their old digs at Bruno’s in the Mission. After a year-long renovation, Bruno’s has reopened, and Jazz Mafia Tuesdays has returned to its original home after their temporary residency at 12 Galaxies during the past year. Jazz Mafia Tuesdays is San Francisco’s longest running weekly live music night and was voted “Best Live Music Weekly Night” by the SF Weekly in their Best of the Bay 2006 edition. I missed the first week’s show that featured the Realistic Orchestra, but I got a major dose of mafia action the very next week when the Shotgun Wedding Quintet rocked the house until last call. Although the venue was still working out some of the kinks in their new sound system, the acoustics in the new Bruno’s are excellent, and I was able to record this slammin’ five-minute video to share with you all. So take a look at the video and make sure to come down to Bruno’s on Tuesday nights — trust me, you won’t regret it!

 QuickTime/iPod Video [4:27m]: Play Now | Download
 Windows Media Video [4:27m]: Play Now | Download

Here’s my next installment from the 2006 Fillmore Street Jazz Fest. The Brass Mafia headlined the last slot at 4pm on Sunday’s schedule at the Sutter Street Stage, and boy was it worth the wait! These guys are part of the Jazz Mafia collective, and they sure know how to have a stompin’ good time! The band features ringleader Adam Theis on the oh-so-low sousaphone, Joe Cohen on the tenor and bari saxes, Mike Olmos blasting on trumpet, and Pat Korte thumping on drums. And if that wasn’t enough, they were also joined by special guests Will Bernard on guitar/banjo, Doug Beavers on trombone, and Matt Lucas playing percussion. As can be imagined with that kind of lineup, their two sets brought the Sutter Street Stage to a festival-ending climax on Sunday with a mix of original compositions and some truly awesome medleys and arrangements of a few classics that included material from Fela Kuti and the Skatalites. Their last (official) track of the day invited rappers Dublin, Orukusaki, Jebediah, Natron, and Seneca on stage for a 10-minute medley that mixed live jazz, hip hop, and improvisation in all it’s new-school glory. But, little did the crowd expect, when the six o’ clock ending time came and past, the boys just kept on playing by grabbing a snare drum, bass drum, and their brass instruments and heading out into the crowd New Orleans marching-band style! It was fantastic, and it whipped the fans into a frenzy — what a great way to end the weekend’s festivities! So, check out my photos above, and the videos and audio files below to get a taste of what their performance was like on Sunday. And whatever you do, make sure to go see these guys live sometime, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

 Confucious / Outkast [.MOV] [8:06m]: Play Now | Download
 Confucious / Outkast [.WMV] [8:06m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip Hop Medley [.MOV] [11:56m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip Hop Medley [.WMV] [11:56m]: Play Now | Download
 Do Like Eddie / Soulful Strut [9:35m]: Play Now | Download
 Rocky / The Model / 80's Mekka Medley [8:22m]: Play Now | Download
 Fela Kuti Medley: Colonial Mentality / Rofroro Fight [12:05m]: Play Now | Download
 "It's Hard Work" [1:09m]: Play Now | Download
 Whoopin' Blues [7:37m]: Play Now | Download
 Confucious / Outkast [9:09m]: Play Now | Download
 Brass Mafia Theme [8:52m]: Play Now | Download
 Rappers Intro [1:13m]: Play Now | Download
 Hip-Hop Medley [12:03m]: Play Now | Download

Here’s another hot post from some of our friends in the Jazz Mafia, who just took top honors from the SFWeekly for putting on the Best Live Music Night in SF in 2006. This time we were blown away by the live hip hop talents of the Shotgun Wedding Quintet playing their once-a-month gig at 12 Galaxies in the Mission. These guys have got real talent and a lot of potential, and I personally can’t wait until their first studio album is released. Dublin rocked the house with his smooth-flowing rap style all while being backed up by a top-notch live band that includes multi-instrumentalists playing saxaphone, trombone, keyboard, bass, and drums — not to mention some jammin’ live sampling and scratching from DJ Aspect. If that wasn’t enough, they ended the night with Dublin and special guests slammin’ some incredible roundtable freestyle rhymes on topics suggested by the audience. Truely amazing stuff that is not to be missed. So, make sure to watch the seven minute video below where they play two swinging tracks back-to-back, and make sure to go check them out live sometime.

 QuickTime Video [7:34m]: Play Now | Download
 Windows Media Video [7:33m]: Play Now | Download
 Shotgun Wedding 1st Set [58:55m]: Play Now | Download
 Shotgun Wedding 2nd Set [60:50m]: Play Now | Download