Revolutionary Snake Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble is an improvisational brass band
based in the Boston area that specializes in playing New Orleans second line brass band music, as well as other modern improvised celebratory music. Led by saxophonist Ken Field
, the group's colorful costumes and creative arrangements have earned it invitations to entertain audiences as large as 20,000. Revolutionary Snake Ensemble performances have included many venues including: the New Orleans Krewe of Muses
Mardi Gras
Parade
, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Cambridge
River Festival, the HONK!
festival, ArtBeat, the Central Square
World's Fair, the Somerville
Theater, First Night Boston, First Night Providence
, First Night Fall River
, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Academy of Music
, the Puffin Cultural Forum, the Big Top (New Orleans) and the Berklee Performance Center.
The Ensemble can be heard on Parade of Numbers, an animated counting piece regularly aired on the beloved children's program Sesame Street
, since the early 90's. It was animated by Ken's wife Karen Aqua.
Repeatedly nominated in their Best Music Poll by the Boston Phoenix and WFNX Radio, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble includes a roster of notable Boston-area musicians. The group has also been twice nominated by a panel of music writers and critics for a Boston Music Award.
Year of the Snake was the group's debut CD, and includes interpretations of music by other artists including Field, Sun Ra
, John Scofield
and James Brown
. Liner notes were contributed by two-time Grammy-winning New Orleans music producer Scott Billington
. The CD was listed as one of the top CDs of the year on New York NPR
affiliate WNYC
, in the New Orleans Gambit Weekly, and on Radio Popolare in Milan
, Italy
.
Forked Tongue, the group's second CD, was released May 13, 2008 on the Cuneiform label and includes, among other tracks, a brass reinterpretation of Billy Idol
's classic 'White Wedding.'
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
based in the Boston area that specializes in playing New Orleans second line brass band music, as well as other modern improvised celebratory music. Led by saxophonist Ken Field
Ken Field
Ken Field is a saxophonist, flautist, percussionist, and composer. Since 1988 he has been a member of the electrified modern music ensemble Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, with whom he has recorded eight CDs.-Career:...
, the group's colorful costumes and creative arrangements have earned it invitations to entertain audiences as large as 20,000. Revolutionary Snake Ensemble performances have included many venues including: the New Orleans Krewe of Muses
Krewe of Muses
The Krewe of Muses is an all-female krewe or New Orleans Mardi Gras social organization--one of the few clubs with that distinction . The Muses first paraded during Mardi Gras in 2000. Since then, their krewe has grown to include nearly 1500 members...
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
Parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
River Festival, the HONK!
HONK!
HONK! is a series of music festivals held in various cities across North America. These festivals showcase ambulatory, acoustic bands playing music in public spaces.-Description:...
festival, ArtBeat, the Central Square
Central Square
Central Square may refer to:United States*Central Square , Massachusetts*Central Square, East Boston, Massachusetts*Central Square, New York, a village in Oswego CountyIndia*Central Square United Kingdom*Wembley Central Square...
World's Fair, the Somerville
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
Theater, First Night Boston, First Night Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, First Night Fall River
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, the Puffin Cultural Forum, the Big Top (New Orleans) and the Berklee Performance Center.
The Ensemble can be heard on Parade of Numbers, an animated counting piece regularly aired on the beloved children's program Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, since the early 90's. It was animated by Ken's wife Karen Aqua.
Repeatedly nominated in their Best Music Poll by the Boston Phoenix and WFNX Radio, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble includes a roster of notable Boston-area musicians. The group has also been twice nominated by a panel of music writers and critics for a Boston Music Award.
Year of the Snake was the group's debut CD, and includes interpretations of music by other artists including Field, Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
and James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
. Liner notes were contributed by two-time Grammy-winning New Orleans music producer Scott Billington
Scott Billington
Scott Billington is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, songwriter and blues musician.- Biography:...
. The CD was listed as one of the top CDs of the year on New York NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
affiliate WNYC
WNYC
WNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
, in the New Orleans Gambit Weekly, and on Radio Popolare in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Forked Tongue, the group's second CD, was released May 13, 2008 on the Cuneiform label and includes, among other tracks, a brass reinterpretation of Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
's classic 'White Wedding.'