Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are a jazz-funk group from Chicago, United States. The group is made up of brothers from the south side of Chicago and comes from a large musical family: their sisters and brothers are also professional musicians, and their mothers are singers. Their father, Phillip Cohran, has roots in Mississippi, spent time in St. Louis in the 1940s musical scene, and plays a key role in Sun Ra’s Chicago period in the 1950s. After Sun Ra leaves for the east coast in 1960, Cohran remains in Chicago, where his work as a musical activist and educator leads to the creation of the Sun Ark, a space in a warehouse behind the family home above a furniture shop.

The brothers grow up around regular rehearsal and practice. At night they hear their father working with his band, the Circle of Sound, and in the morning they are called to several hours of music practice before school. They are also part of his Youth Ensemble from an early age. At the same time, they develop an interest in hip hop, listening to artists including N.W.A, Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Eazy-E, and they begin performing in early groups such as Gangsters with a Curfew and later Wolf Pak, which stands for Wolves on the Lookout for Pigs and Klansmen.

By the end of the 1990s, after finishing school, they combine their jazz background, musicianship and hip hop sensibility and make a living busking on the streets of Chicago. The group name comes from an incident on the El, when a man in a suit watches them play for hours, missing train after train, then tells them that they have hypnotised him. Their writing becomes an important part of the group’s identity, and they compose most of their own material, with the exceptions of Alyo, written by their father, and Rabbit Hop, written by Moondog.

The group later moves to New York City and plays extensively there, including performances with Mos Def and Erykah Badu. They also play notable shows in Europe and become known for an individual style that draws on jazz, funk, brass-band music and hip hop energy. The members named are Gabriel Hubert, Saiph Graves, Tycho Cohran, Amal Baji Hubert, Jafar Baji Graves, Seba Graves, Tarik Graves, Christopher Anderson and Uttama Hubert, with each member taking a specific instrumental role in the ensemble.

Members and roles

Gabriel Hubert plays trumpet; Saiph Graves plays trombone; Tycho Cohran plays sousaphone; Amal Baji Hubert and Jafar Baji Graves play trumpet; Seba Graves plays trombone; Tarik Graves plays trumpet; Christopher Anderson plays drums; and Uttama Hubert plays baritone.