Funk Off
After 27 years and over 1,000 concerts, Funk Off are truly one of a kind. The Italian brass band are redefining the meaning of a marching band.
Funk Off blend the groove of Afro-American music with jazz-inspired compositions and arrangements, enhanced by dynamic choreography to create a powerful live show.
One of the band’s most distinctive traits is their fusion of original music (written and arranged by Dario Cecchini, the band's founder and leader) and movement - something rarely seen with such expressive power within the context of a brass band.
For the past fifteen years, Funk Off have been the official marching band of the legendary Umbria Jazz festival, and have toured extensively across Europe’s most prestigious festivals, as well as in Australia, China, the USA, South Africa, Brazil, and Japan.
They have also appeared on numerous television programs and collaborated with a wide range of artists across both jazz and pop scenes, including Mika, Avery Sunshine and Raul Midon.
They will be playing music from their latest album Soulful, along with music from their back catalogue of 11 previous albums.
One of the hits of the London Jazz Festival, the energetic Italian marching band carries the alfresco genre a long way from the New Orleans second line… the influence of James Brown's longtime associate Maceo Parker is unmistakable. A hint of Zappa, too.
The magnitude of their individual skillsets reveals a competence and unity that makes you wonder: do all marching bands sound like this? No, not really. This is funky in all its colourful glory, drenched in jazz...
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