Brass Fusion Band To Perform
COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown Concert Series will welcome the Brooklyn-based brass fusion quintet Dingonek Street Band to the stage on Friday, February 9 at 7 p.m. at The Otesaga Resort Hotel. According to organizers, Dingonek has created a funky, high-energy party music all its own by absorbing and reworking elements of Afrobeat, ethno-jazz, punk rock, free jazz, and Balkan brass music, built on the celebratory energy and raw spontaneity of the second-line brass band tradition.
“We are thrilled to be bringing a brass street band from Brooklyn to our stage this season,” stated CCS Board President Arthur Weinstock in a press release. “The raw energy of Dingonek is exhilarating!
“Our mission is to present live music events that promote cultural growth, while intriguing and entertaining the audience,” Weinstock continued. “Dingonek Street Band exemplifies our mission and we’re eager to bring their sound to Cooperstown.”
The band began in Boston in 2013 as trumpeter Bobby Spellman’s Underground Society Band. A Monday night residency at the legendary Middle East Nightclub allowed the gang of musicians to work out new material and hone the unique sound of the group. Over time, the brass-based jazz band began incorporating more sounds from around the world, and they gravitated toward the funkier side of their unconventional repertoire.
“We’re excited to be returning to upstate New York to perform for the Cooperstown Concert Series, and to be featured in such a long-standing, eclectic performing arts program,” said Spellman, trumpeter and band leader for Dingonek Street Band. “Our band strives to find new paths to the roots of human jubilation through musical exploration and unbridled improvisation,” added Spellman, “and we’re ready to bring our high-energy brass fusion and funky party music to the Cooperstown audience.”
“Primal Economics” is Dingonek’s dynamic debut album, featuring eight original compositions penned by Spellman. Each track is a wild blending of worlds, mixing African rhythms with jazz improvisation, Romani scales with second-line grooves, brass and reeds with drums, gongs, bells, and broken glass. The band takes creative risks without losing hold of the earthy grooves that form the foundation for party music the world over.
Tickets for the concert are available online and at the door: $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for students (with college ID), $10.00 for youth ages 6-18, and free for children under 6 years old. For more information, visit cooperstownconcertseries.org/dingonek-street-band-feb-9