It’s a dance party with Rebirth Brass Band

Much has changed on New Orleans' Bourbon Street since the Rebirth Brass Band formed in 1983.

"When we started out, there were all these great jazz clubs," Rebirth Brass Band bass drummer Keith Frazier said while calling from his New Orleans home. "We would play for tips on Bourbon Street, but we would pop our heads into these jazz clubs and learn something. But I don't think there's one jazz club here anymore on Bourbon Street. They all closed down. It's a shame how things have changed."

The institution where the band formed in 1983, Joseph S. Clark Sr. High School, is closed as well.

"Our school is gone and our city is so different, but we're still at it," Frazier said. "That's something that fortunately never changed."

Frazier and his brother, tuba player Phillip Frazier, are the two original members of the Rebirth Brass Band, which still delivers second line, funk, jazz, soul and hip hop. However, Phillip Frazier no longer tours with the band after he suffered his second stroke in 2018.

The group, which will perform Sunday at the Englert Theatre, remains an energetic live band that engages the audience.

"We're all about getting people up and dancing and having a good time," Keith Frazier said. "We're all about having fun when we perform. We're not dinner music. We're going to get people up off of their feet."

The Rebirth Brass Band will deliver an amalgam of tunes ranging from the traditional to the popular. "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," New Orleans' icon Fat's Domino's classic "I'm Walkin,“ and the Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle” are often part of the act's set.

"We love what we do and it's been an amazing career," Frazier said. "Who knew when we started out here that we would have had so many incredible experiences."

There have been many highlights for the Rebirth Brass Band. "Rebirth of New Orleans," which was inspired by the Big Easy's recovery from the devastating Hurricane Katrina, hit the top spot on the CMJ Jazz charts and earned the group a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album.

"Being recognized for what we do by winning a Grammy was fantastic," Frazier said. "To be regarded as the best of that year (2011) is so cool. The great part about winning is that you become part of the Grammy academy. We get to vote and be part of that process, which we enjoy."

Winning a Grammy is an honor and so is the opportunity to work with some of their favorite recording artists. Aaron Neville, Maceo Parker (who was James Brown's right hand man as his saxophonist), G. Love and Special Sauce, Ani DiFranco, John Fogerty and N'Dea Davenport are some of the well-respected musicians who have recorded with the Rebirth Brass Band.

"It's always a great time to perform with people like Aaron, Garrett (Dutton, aka G. Love) and Maceo," Frazier said. "It's always exciting working with great recording artists."

The Rebirth Brass Band and its members appeared in several episodes of the acclaimed HBO series "Treme," which was shot in the group's neighborhood of the same name. Some of the members also served as consultants on the series. The band's music is featured as live performances, recorded music in the background and in the score.

"That was another great opportunity that we enjoyed," Frazier said. "We experienced so much in the past, but we're also working on things since we're about the future."

The group, which includes trombonists Stafford Agee and Caleb Windsay, saxophonist Vincent Broussard, trumpet players Glenn Hall and Eric Rogers, tuba player Clifton Smith and Jenard Andrews on the snare drum, are finishing a new album entitled "We The People," which is slated for an April release.

"It's an album for the times," Frazier said. "It's all about coming together under one nation. We can all dance together and party together. Music unifies and is healing. We all need that right now."