brass liberation orchestra

"My Bitter Land." 1974 song by Italian left-wing singer, actor and politician Domenico Modugno about the hardships faced by poor Italian peasants that forced them to emigrate. Inspired by the version by Roman brass band Titubanda, the BLO performs this song in solidarity with all migrants forced to relocate for economic reasons.

Composed by BLO member Josh Sperry. Combines influences of the New Orleans Second Line and Eastern European street bands, particularly Roma influences. Others hear some mambo (Tito Rodriguez and Horace Silver) influences as well.

A partisan song of the CNL, the Italian resistance to Mussolini during WWII. Its lyrics were written as a farewell to the female loved ones left behind when partisans went to the Italian hills to fight the guerilla war against fascism.

By Michael Jackson, from Thriller, 1982. A staple of badass marching bands everywhere.

BLO plays this song in tribute to Roma people worldwide. While Bubamara is not a traditional Romani song, it has been popularized by several Romani bands and musicians, including Saban Bajramovic and Fanfare Ciocarlia. Bubamara means "labybug" in the Romani language, and is an important symbol in Romani culture. Ladybugs attract guests to the home and are also a sign of good luck. For the Roma, the home is a sacred place, and the act of having guests is taken very seriously. This song speaks of the "cute little ladybug" and encourages all the Roma to get together and dance! The lyrics, originally in Serbo-Croatian, were translated and adapted into the Romani language by Dragan Ristic. Saban Bajramovic sang the original version for the film Black Cat, White Cat". (Text adapted from Dusan Ristic)

A song from pianist Herbie Hancock’s (b. 1940-) funk period, from the album Headhunter.

Mexican folk song strongly associated with the struggles of the United Farm Workers during the 1960’s and 70’s. Labor leader Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) founded the UFW, and his birthday, March 31, is a state holiday in California and Colorado, with movements pushing for holiday status in other states and federally. While the lyrics to "De Colores" speak mainly about the beauty and the farm animals of the Mexican countryside, they are often interpreted as implying themes of racial solidarity and harmony. The song is always well-received at the numerous immigrant rights events where BLO plays.

Traditional Roma song named for the annual Roma spring festival. The lyrics declare, "We are all Roma."

This is a song associated with the Spanish Civil War. Originally a folk song of anonymous origin, different factions of the Republican side wrote their own lyrics. The BLO based our arrangement on a recording by bassist Charlie Haden from his album Liberation Music Orchestra.

A cumbia by Venzuelan musician and political activist Alí Primera about the nation of El Salvador's struggle against US imperialism.

This traditional song was actually a musical message to enslaved African-Americans escaping via the Underground Railroad to freedom through the northern US states to Canada. The drinking gourd in the song refers to the stars in the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation that point north.

This tune by Peter Tosh (1944-1987), is a strident stand for self-emancipation and freedom. It is one of the biggest hits from The Wailer's 1973 album, Burnin'.

Written by Philemon Flou of Liberia, it became a hit in 1967 in the US and UK when covered by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, establishing his international reputation. Masekela, a leader in the African National Congress (ANC), wrote and played many songs to inspire the liberation movements in Southern Africa.

Balkan/rock hit by controversial Bosnian superstar Goran Bregovic, from the album Tales And Songs From Weddings And Funerals.

Well known as a workers’ hymn, the lyrics were written by Eugene Pottier (later a member of the Paris Commune of 1871) and were later set to music by Pierre Deguyter. Long beloved of leftists of many tendencies, it was used at various times as a national anthem by the Soveit Union, China, and other socialist-bloc nations. For history and lyrics, click here.

Not a particularly political song, but a fun hip-hop dance beat by The Black-Eyed Peas that has a great bassline. (From the album Elefunk.)

A traditional New Orleans Second Line tune of unknown origin.

Composed by Austrian jazz composer Joe Zawinul who played with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet and Miles Davis. In a live cut from the album Miles Away, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley calls upon the audience to face adversity with this song.

By Manu Chao, the French/Moroccan/Spanish performer lionized by the anti-capitalist movement in Europe, from his album Proxima Estación: Esperanza. Some BLO members met Manu Chao when he snuck into the brass band contingent with our “bandista” comrades in Italy for the protest against the G-8 summit in Genoa in 1999.

"God Bless Africa" in the Xhosa language, is part of the joint national anthem of South Africa. It was originally composed as a hymn in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since translated into many African and European languages, it was for decades during the apartheid regime considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of South Africa, representing the suffering of the oppressed. In 1994 after the fall of apartheid, the new State President of South Africa Nelson Mandela declared that both "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the previous national anthem, "Die Stem" ("The Call of South Africa") would be national anthems. The hymn is also the national anthem of both Tanzania and Zambia, and was formerly the anthem of Zimbabwe and Namibia. Outside of Africa, the hymn is perhaps best known as the long-time (since 1925) anthem of the African National Congress (ANC), as a result of the global anti-Apartheid movement of the 1970s and 1980s, when it was regularly sung at meetings and other events. It became part of South Africa's national anthem in 1994, following the ANC's victory in the country's first multi-racial elections. (Adapted from wikipedia.)

One of Fela Kuti's better-known songs from the 1977 album of the same name. (See Dog Eat Dog, above, for more info about Fela.)

Traditional melody based on one of many chants used by the Mardi Gras Indians in the New Orleans Second Line Tradition.

Folk song from Oaxaca, Mexico, from a random tape one of us picked up there. Note that the tune we play seems unrelated to the flamenco palo also known as Petenera.

Among the most recognizable pieces by 20th Century composer Raymond Scott, whose music was used by Warner Brothers Studios in many cartoons of the 1930’s and 1940’s.

An original modal piece (Concert G/Ab) written by former BLO member Axel Herrera. It was inspired by the music of the Roma people of Eastern Europe and is a tribute to their struggles and culture.

"Time." Song by Serb Rom trumpeter and composer Boban Markovic, from the 2004 ablum Boban I Marko.

James Bond is an icon of anti-imperialism and popular resistance. We play this song to link our struggles with his. ;-) This arrangment came to us through the Florentine marching band, Fiati Sprecati and is inspired by the UK's punk-ska bands (Selector, the Clash, etc.)

American folksong of unclear origin, made famous by a 1928 recording by Louis Armstrong. (See wikipedia entry.)

Traditional African-American spiritual, used in baptisms and declaration of the “born-again” process in Christianity. From the 1930’s on, jazz musicians have often changed the rhythm to fit the “swing” meter of jazz composition. Soloists and arrangers often quote another spiritual, “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” to add variety to the piece. BLO also quotes the riff from the Bob Marley song, 'Exodus.'

Another tune by jazz composer Herbie Hancock from his album Cantaloupe Island. A cover by Cuban conga player Mongo Santamaria (1922-2003) became a top-ten hit in the mid-1960s during the Boogalu period of Latin pop music. Boogalu mixed Latin styles like the cha-cha with Motown's rhythm and blues.

Famous anthem of the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Sung by many vocal groups of the Black freedom movement, jazz musicians such as Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone sang the song in a jazz context. Drummer Max Roach wrote a jazz suite with the song as a musical theme. BLO members Josh Sperry and Marco Peris created our arrangement, which we play over an Argentinian Murga beat.

Traditional Palestinian song. The title translates as We are going to Ramallah. We play this song in solidarity with the people of Palestine who are struggling for their freedom and self determination. Our arrangement in based on a version by the Italian brass band, Ottoni a Scoppio. "It's largely a nostalgic tune cherished by the Palestinian diaspora and sung at festivals to reflect the longing for Palestine." (Daoud Kuttab, director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah)

Composed by Nat Adderley (1931-1999), cornet/flugelhorn playing brother of alto saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (1928-1975). The Adderley brothers were creators of the the late 1950s and 60s style called Soul Jazz, the first of many fusions in the post-bop period. The song's melody harkens to the period of chain gangs that were used to control Black working people in the southern United States. Nina Simone (1933-2003) sang lyrics to Work Song written by bebop vocalist, Eddie Jefferson, who wrote lyrics to many of Charlie Parker's instrumental tunes.