Kermit Ruffins

This swings! When the young Kermit Ruffins co-founded the Rebirth Brass Band out of New Orleans’ very rough Treme District in the early 1980s, he effectively replaced guns with trumpets and caused a worldwide music sensation. He brought the brass tradition back to front and center in the city where jazz was born. An amicable split with Rebirth in 1992 led him to follow his bliss after his hero, Louis Armstrong. Ruffins, more than any other living player, embodies the expressive growl; the giant zest for life; and the sweet, sweet chops of Satchmo. Classic repertoire (“Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams”) and tasty originals from his Justice Records and Basin Street Records tenure (especially “Leshianne”) make this an irrepressible (re)package.