*** Re-Birth Brass Band

WE COME TO PARTY

(Shanachie)

The Re-Birth Brass Band, the pride of New Orleans's historic Sixth Ward, were formed by brothers Phillip and Keith Frazier some 14 years ago, when their members were barely in their early teens. After obscure releases on Arhoolie and Mardi Gras Records and four well-received CDs on Rounder, the group went through a raft of personnel changes, only to come back with We Come To Party, their first new disc in three years.

From the funkadelic Paul Deo cartoon on the cover to the fast-paced program of hard-hitting street funk inside, We Come To Party serves notice to the world that the Re-Birth brothers are ready to break out of the folk-jazz ghetto and into the urban mainstream. Stirring street anthems like "Roll with It," "Fire," and the title track, Jeep driver-targeted contemporary R&B numbers like "Don't U Wish," "Why U with Me," and "U Been Watching Me" -- all rub shoulders with the kind of brass-band adaptations of pop tunes ("Let's Get It On," "Liberian Girl") you'd expect from this group. And a medley of traditional spirituals ("Glory, Glory"/"Jesus on the Mainline") round out a package meant to satisfy old Re-Birth fans and win over some new ones.

-- John Sinclair