This weekend saw the arrival of the USS Blue Ridge and with it the Seventh Fleet Band. The naval vessel docked into Colombo on Saturday, arriving from Japan.
This is not the first time they have arrived, yet the band is still very eager to perform to at their numerous gigs, according to Chief Petty Officer Juan Acosta. On Saturday, they gave a free performance at Viharamahadevi Park amphitheatre and on Sunday they performed to a smaller crowd at Majestic City Mall and outside Taphouse in Dutch Hospital.
Their first engagement saw them collaborate with a mixture of Sri Lankan Navy bands. The performance on stage contained an orchestra style band with brass, wind, strings and percussion instruments. The crowd first enjoyed a rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” followed by classic film themes songs like “Eye of the Tiger” form Rocky and the theme song to the popular 80s TV series Hawaii Five-O. Chief Petty Officer Jose Acosta said “ he was very happy to be here, even though it was a rush to the park as they dock in the morning and came straight here for a sound check. We would like to tour the rest of the island yet all our engagements are in Colombo.”
At their performance held at Majestic City, only the US 7th Fleets Broadside Brass Band was performing to a smaller crowd. Yet they had an equally unique experience. Under the direction of trumpeter Musician Second Class Brandon Britt, the crowd enjoyed mainstream hits such as “Bustin Loose” by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers.
MU2 Brandon Britt described their style as a classic New Orleans Brass Band, which draws its influences from funk, soul, jazz and R’n’B. “In New Orleans when there is a funeral a brass band follows the funeral procession to the church playing sombre music, yet on the way to the wake at someone’s house, the music turn into a celebration of life.”
At this point, they announced there the last piece and started to play “When the Saints go Marching in” by Louis Armstrong and four members of the band proceeded to walk through the crowd and up the stairs to the different floors of Majestic City. Which sent the audience wild and gave them a standing ovation.
Pix and text by Dilantha Dissanayake
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