BRING ON THE BRASS! Raging Brass Reggae at The Dance Hall

Courtesy photo Marc Chillemi

Dance Party at The Dance Hall with Portland’s Raging Brass Reggae

Kittery, Maine - Dance into Thanksgiving season with Portland’s fun and funky Raging Brass Reggae. On Saturday, Nov. 21 at 8pm RBR will fill The Dance Hall in Kittery with big, grooving sounds made for dancing! Formed by trumpeter Marc Chillemi, this 7-piece brass band pays tribute to 1960s Jamaican Ska, Rocksteady and Roots Reggae instrumentals. RBR includes trumpet, trombone, alto & tenor saxophones, guitar, tuba and drums and features an all-star collection of musicians from Portland based bands Primo Cubano, Rustic Overtones, The Fogcutters Big Band, Sly Chi, and the Portland Rumba Project.

Raging Brass Reggae has been a long time vision of Chillemi's. After hearing the music of the legendary Skatelites for the first time, he knew he wanted to learn and play this music and assembled a hand-picked horn section from Portland’s most inventive and soulful players. Using tuba instead of electric bass, which is common in New Orleans music and brass bands from around the world, the beginning of the RBR sound was in place. Marc calls this rhythmic foundation "T&D".

In addition to the performance side of RBR, there is an educational element. In 2014, Chillemi was awarded a project grant by the Maine Arts Commission to start a pilot program to teach young music students about jazz improvisation and how to groove as a group through this Jamaican music and it's history that lead to its invention. The program serves as an expansion to the existing methods used in public schools throughout the United States, inspiring groups of horn players to explore and discover their own sound and style. Out of many one sound.

Marc Chillemi - trumpeter, arranger, composer and bandleader. Holds a B.A. in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Maine. Marc's eclectic musical interests and style has invited him to share the stage with a variety of international recording artists including, Orchestra Baobab, The Skatelites, Alton Ellis, Slavic Soul Party, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Antibalas, and G. Love & Special Sauce.
Barry Saunders - tenor, baritone and soprano saxophone.
Mike Ayotte - alto and tenor saxophone.
Dave Noyse - trombone.
Matt Wasowski - guitar.
Rafael Kielt-Freyre - tuba.
Garry Gemitti - drums

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased at www.thedancehallkittery.org and www.brownpapertickets.com.