“Mardi Gras Day” (PDF) from the Kermit Ruffins with Rebirth Brass Band album, Throwback.

The New Orleans standard “Mardi Gras Day” (aka “Big Bass Drum,” “On A Mardi Gras Day”) first appeared on Dr. John’s 1970 album, Remedies, and its origin, much like the performer’s own, is based around the colorful and imaginative re-telling of New Orleans culture. Born and raised in the Big Easy, Mac Rebennack developed a reputation with the police for having played in integrated bands throughout the southern states during the 1960’s, and he eventually served prison time for his association with drugs and prostitution. It is believed that a 1965 crackdown on local music venues forced Rebennack to relocate to Los Angeles where he quickly became part of the studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. This was also where the character of Dr. John, The Night Tripper took the form of a stage show based on Haitian voodoo culture. But it was with the help of Allen Toussaint and The Meters that Dr. John eventually became a torchbearer of New Orleans music.

As fellow guardians of the flame, Rebirth Brass Band passed the torch on this 2005 recording to a young Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews as the featured soloist. Shorty’s playing demonstrated his training from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts along with his budding “Fire & Brimstone” that would spread across the globe in the following decade. Shorty’s own throwback came as an uncredited role accompanying Dr. John’s 2010 performance on the Randy Newman-penned “Down In New Orleans” for Walt Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Here’s a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty sitting in with Dr. John & The Lower 911:

Recommended viewing: Never A Dull Moment: 20 Years of Rebirth Brass Band, music documentary.