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Music

About

The New Bop Brigade, also known as the NBB, was a Seattle jazz quintet founded in 2002 by Steve Messick and David Franklin. The music, composed by Messick and Franklin, was inspired by the works of Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock from the mid '60s. The NBB played fourteen shows in Seattle between 2002 and 2008.

The New Bop Brigade's initial lineup included trombonist Chris Stover, pianist David Franklin, double bassist Steve Messick, and percussionist Ken French. Tenor saxophonist Travis Ranney joined the band for the second show.

The NBB released their eponymous full-length album, New Bop Brigade, on Opus Funkus Music on November 18, 2005. New Bop Brigade was recorded in late 2004 and early 2005 at Ironwood Studios, which later became Avast Recording Co. The album contains eight tracks of original jazz written by Messick and Franklin. During the same sessions, the NBB also recorded Messick's arrangement of "Iron Man" along with "Blues for Agnes" and "On the Road With Agnes" parts one and two. The CD release party for New Bop Brigade was delayed until April 4, 2006, because pianist Franklin was recovering from an injury.

In July 2008, the NBB came back as a quartet with Ranney on tenor sax, and in September 2008 baritone saxophonist Matso Limtiaco joined the band for the NBB's final performance. This new lineup became the Endemic Ensemble in 2010.

In 2013, Opus Funkus Music released two EPs containing the previously unreleased tracks from the New Bop Brigade sessions: Iron Man and Blue for Agnes.

Many Seattle jazz musicians made guest appearances with the New Bop Brigade: Eric Eagle, Gary Fukushima, Alexey Nikolaev, Stuart MacDonald, Chris Monroe, Jay Thomas, Steve Treseler, and Nathan Vetter.