9/3 Howlin’ Wolf New Orleans, LA 10pm

Glenn David Andrews, 23, articulates his city’s deep musical heritage through his performing better than anyone his age. He has one foot planted in the more contemporary, funky sounds that define today’s New Orleans brass band scene; meanwhile, Andrews shows his elders the respect he believes they deserve, as his other foot rests firmly in the music’s time-honored traditions. “Traditional jazz, the way it was played 100 years ago, is dying out with my generation,” Andrews says. “And I’m not about to let that happen.” By combining the old with the new, Andrews has created a unique sound, one that is currently captivating New Orleans music fans.

Andrews certainly possesses the pedigree to carry this illustrious New Orleans musical flame. Growing up in the historic Treme section of the city, one of the first black neighborhoods in America, Andrews was immersed in the thick of New Orleans culture from the get go. Musical legends like Earl Palmer, James Black and George Lewis once walked his neighborhood’s streets and played in its clubs, as do some of today’s young lions, such as Nicholas Payton, Kermit Ruffins and Shannon Powell.

Known by locals as the “Sixth Ward,” the Treme still hosts “Second Line” parades on most Sundays, with brass bands and dancers rambling through its bars and streets. These unique, celebratory occasions have been taking place in this neighborhood for at least a century. Into this scene came Glenn David Andrews, eager to soak it all in. “I love it,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to grow up anywhere else.”

Chances are that whatever band is leading one of these parades (the ReBirth, Li’l Rascals or the Newbirth Brass Band), a few of its members will likely share the same last name: Andrews. This family is currently producing highly talented young musicians at an astonishing rate. Glen David’s first cousins, James and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, are local favorites; so are Glen and Revert “Peanut” Andrews, who both hold court with the ReBirth Brass Band. Since he began playing his instrument at age 13, Glen David has performed with almost every brass band in the city. His boisterous voice and warm trombone style are fixtures on the streets, and he adds his own flavor to whatever band he is supporting that day and always makes it sound better. Now he is stepping out on his own, ready to take New Orleans music up from the streets and bring it to the rest of the world.

His ability to add new songs to the brass band repertoire is matchless for a performer so young. Songs like “Knock with Me, Rock with Me” and “Show Me How You Do That Dance” are not only street favorites, but have also received sizeable commercial radio airplay, an honor that has eluded brass band music since the ReBirth Brass Band recorded its signature tune, “Do Whatcha Wanna,” almost 20 years ago. “I am writing all the time, and my lyrics just come out of me,” Andrews explains. “And that’s the way it should be, because this is heart and soul music.”

Andrews is becoming a full-blown star in New Orleans, and his powerful vocals and soulful trombone playing recently drew attention at the Louis Armstrong “Satchmo Summer Festival” as well as on the stage of the local music shrine, Tipitina’s. “People are starting to take notice,” Andrews observes. “I know how to take charge of a stage.” One minute he’ll have you feeling the solemn power of an old time spiritual from the 19 th century, and the next you’ll be jumping higher in the air than you ever thought possible while chanting at the top of your lungs. This seamless mixing of styles sets Glen David Andrews apart from his contemporaries. Through his music, he brings musical history to life, while also creating a new sound that is all his.

His musical career could have ended there, were it not for a fortuitous turn of events. During Klein’s brief stay with the band, a few barely-in-tune harmonicas were passed his way. These unwanted instruments fell into the right hands and thus began a love affair that continues to this day. He began practicing on them, studying the styles of the great “harp masters” and learning the basics, as well as the various nuances that could be coaxed out of the versatile mouth instrument. Over time, his understanding of the many styles of harp-playing grew to include its most frequently utilized blues style but it soon expanded beyond that realm into jazz. There, as well as in the blues, Klein found his musical niche.

At the age of 20, he moved to Colorado and a new stage of his career began. He was given a flute by a friend and fellow music lover and he was fascinated by it. He enlisted the aid of a street musician to teach him the basics and, over time, his training opened him up to another world and a new understanding of jazz. While in Colorado, Klein attempted to enroll in music school but his unorthodox playing style and unfamiliarity with classical sight-reading worked against him. He was turned down for admission. Undeterred, however, he used this experience to raise himself above and beyond conventional standards, taking it upon himsel f to learn the basics and nuances of music theory and further master his craft.

Later on, a tenor saxophone was added to Klein’s arsenal of instruments. In later years it would emerge as a valuable key to deeper explorations of the jazz realm. Between the three instruments he mastered, his style became influenced by Rashaan Roland Kirk, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Herbie Mann, Ian Anderson, Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite and William Clarke. He formed a band called The Boulevards which became one of Colorado’s premiere blues bands, playing songs by the great bluesmasters and recording their first CD, Might The Boulevards Swing. With bandmates Dan Freedman on guitar, Dave Solzberg on bass and George DeCaro on drums the CD consisted mostly of covers of tunes by Clarke, Musselwhite and others but there were a few originals that gave Klein valuable songwriting experience. The band soon morphed into the jazz/blues vein and their second CD, Desire, reflected this shift with all original songs.

After tours of the South and West, playing clubs and festivals, Klein gave in to the urgings of friends and family (as well as an “inner calling”) and returned to New Orleans in the late 1990s. It was a good career move for him, one that has allowed him to flourish and expand his creativity in a more musically conducive environment. He and a new Boulevards band have been acquiring considerable playing time in New Orleans’ vibrant cabaret scene, becoming familiar fixtures in the music clubs of the French Quarter, the Garden District and the Faubourg Marigny. Now 28 years old and in his musical prime, Klein has blossomed into a talented visual artist, as well, specializing in body art as the proprietor of Chris’s Tattoos of New Orleans, 4527 Freret Street, Uptown. And he is hard at work on creating new material, focusing on his writing in preparation for an upcoming, entirely New Orleans-produced CD.