On March 9, Brasstracks performed at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom with Kemba, Pell and JusChill.
Brasstracks is a music duo consisting of Conor Rayne on drums and Ivan Jackson on trumpet. They met at the Manhattan School of Music and formed in 2014. Their sound is a hybrid between electronic and jazz music.
Rayne and Jackson were joined by JJ Kirkpatrick, another trumpet player, and Nadav Nirenberg, a trombone player, throughout their set. Kirkpatrick and Nirenberg are both prominent composers. Brasstracks also brought out one of the members from Big Gigantic, Dominic Lalli, who plays saxophone.
I got there around 8:45 to find the balcony and the outskirts of the bottom level of Cervantes Masterpiece were full. The show started at 9 p.m. It was mixed ages from 16 to about 50, yet the majority of the people that were in the room were in their 20s to 30s. It was very cosmopolitan. People were put together, but casual. Some people wore sweaters and sweatshirts. There was a table full of various merch to pick from and the people working the table were friendly.
The atmosphere was comfortable and relaxed as Denver native JusChill, a hip-hop producer and turntablist, started the show. Imagine funky lo-fi with some heavier 808s and record scratching for a little over an hour. During the show, JusChill brought a fun energy with a chill ambiance that quickly filled the room.
Kemba took the stage at 10:30 p.m. The venue was filled throughout its extremities by this point. Kemba is a rapper from the Bronx. He had the crowd captive with his prophetic conscious rap. During Kemba’s set, the crowd had their hands up as he directed a call and response where the crowd repeated, “No you ain’t” to everything that he said.
The set changes were punctual, featuring contemporary mainstream artists (such as Childish Gambino) to up and coming artists on the rise (such as Jean Deaux) to classic intermission tunes (such as remixes of Missy Elliott).
It was a little after 11 p.m. when Brasstracks came on stage. Rayne opened with a drum solo and Jackson was quick to get the crowd dancing and clapping to the rhythm. The band was as vibrant as the crowd. You could tell that all of the musicians involved in the show have a strong bond as they made sure to announce each other’s names and had their own solos.
Jackson was wearing his signature wide brimmed hat and took lead on entertaining the crowd; he seemed to subtly be mouthing raps to himself at times. I would not be surprised if Jackson explored expanding his sound to include rapping in the future. Rapidly fluid, Rayne was focused on drumming. His swift, yet controlled, motions were simply mesmerizing. I immediately understood why he had an abundance of extra drumsticks.
Pell, a rapper from New Orleans, joined Brasstracks for a number of songs bringing a faster pace to the stage. He bounced with the beat as he rapped and even stage dived at one point. The crowd danced the entire show, however, they picked up their pace to keep up with Pell. The energy in the room was consistently radiant. At one point Rayne and Jackson stepped back for Pell and Big Gigantic to take the stage and perform their song, “Miss Primetime.” This was followed by Big Gigantic performing a solo and joining Brasstracks for a number of their songs.
Overall, the show was not as loud as I had expected. However, I was wearing ear protection. I walked through the crowd during the peak of the show and found that the venue was full throughout. From the upstairs balcony, the lights were reflecting off the enormous disco ball in the center of Cervantes ceiling. Essentially, the show was a rave to big band music. Brasstracks is a must-see show that I would recommend to people of all ages.
