It’s Mardi Gras time. Are you ready to “Kick Some Brass?”

On Friday, February 12, Donna’s club hosts the record release celebration for Michael Foster Project’s debut CD, Kick Some Brass, the first live brass band recording on Donna’s own label, Rampart Records.

The label is the next phase of Donna Sims and her husband Charlie’s ongoing mission to expose the indigenous brass band jazz of New Orleans to a mainstream audience. “Brass band music has a wide appeal, because you can classify it as world music, roots music, or jazz music. These musicians have an incredible ability to change like a chameleon from one sound to another,” says Donna.

She should know. For the last four years, her club, dubbed “Brass Band Headquarters,” has presented the music six nights a week. The small, rootsy venue, located at 800 N. Rampart, directly across from Armstrong park, has one foot in the musically rich Treme neighborhood and the other in the French Quarter. Previously, there was no venue where an international audience could be regularly exposed to “the effervescence of the brass bands, toe swinging, funky sounds,” says Donna.

But while the music flourishes in her club and other live venues around the city, relatively little is being recorded and marketed properly, a problem she hopes to remedy.

“A lot of these bands are financing their own CD’s, and then they don’t go anywhere. They just sell locally, maybe 2000 copies at the most. They can’t even afford to send out free copies for press. They don’t have any other input, they don’t have producers. They could benefit from advice on their material, arid from distribution and promotion.”

With Michael Foster Project’s Kick Some Brass, the label gets off to an auspicious start. Showcasing four traditional numbers and six seductively groovy originals, the all acoustic band benefits from the warm acoustics and enthusiastic live-crowd vibe of Donna’s. This group, which met through the music program at Southern University in Baton Rouge, is exceptionally tight musically. They display strong modern jazz and funk chops, while maintaining the rootsy soul of traditional jazz.

The rhythm section is driven by the booming, bubbling sousaphone-tuba of Michael Foster and spicy drum-work by Ronald Moss; who uses a full kit, rather than the marching bass drum and snare. This allows the band to sojourn beyond the second line on tunes like “Chicken Grease,” “Big ‘T’ Tuba Daddy,” and the title cut, which features Latin percussion accents.

“When It All Comes Together” is a breakthrough composition. Buoyed by an hypnotic, hip-hop derived rhythm and irresistible sousaphone hook, baritone sax player Anthony Jackson and tenor-man Kier Johnson dive into the deep blue sea of abstract post-bop. Clearly, Michael Foster Project is ready to pick up where the Dirty Dozen leaves off.

The Project also plays Dream Palace on February 14th, along with in-store performances at Louisiana Music Factory on the 13th and at Tower Records on the 15th. Rampart Records’ second release is Slippery Seven, by Mama Digdown’s Brass Junction, who enjoy a healthy following in New Orleans and in the northern mid-west (where they are based). That record comes out on the 13th, with a release party that night at Donna’s.

The Le Meridien Hotel has announced that it will once again co-sponsor with the Riverwalk Marketplace the second annual Jazz King Competition. The competition will be held in conjunction with Riverwalk’s Lundi Gras celebration and will take place on Monday, February 15th, from 3:45 to 5:35pm. The winner of the competition,  which is judged by local music representatives, will be crowned “The 1999 Jazz King” by the Mayor prior to the arrival of Rex.

The winner gets three days of studio time at Noiselab studio and a four night stay at Le Meridien Toronto (airfare included), where they will be guest performers. They also win a weekend stay, including Sunday brunch, at Le Meridien New Orleans. Auditions for the competition will be held at the local hotel on February 4th and 11th.

Those readers who were out at the clubs know that January was an incredible month for live jazz. The new year started off right at The Funky Butt on January 1st, when Branford Marsalis sat in with Los Hombres Callentes. He played a mesmerizing soprano sax solo during “Rhumba Para Jason,” the group’s Latin take on “Summertime.” Branford gave the song an almost frightening depth of romantic mysticism. At its zenith, the song suggested an alluring, middle-eastern oasis. Los Hombres play again at the Dream Palace on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras nights, and at the Funky Butt on the 20th and 21st.

That level of virtuosity was matched last month only by McCoy Tyner, who played House of Blues on January 15th. His trio’s bassist, Avery Sharpe, was snowed-in up north, so, as fate would have it, local bassist David Pulphus was called upon to fill those prodigious shoes. This added drama to the fIrst set, as Pulphus fought to get his bearings. But by the second set, he was strong in the groove, and he, Tyner and drummer Aaron Scott drove Tyner’s original tune “Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit” into a transcendent stratosphere.

At Storyville’s grand opening party on January 7th, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was complimented by guests Allen Toussaint, Kirk Joseph (the Dozen’s original tubist), Dave Bartholomew, Kermit Ruffins and Carl LeBlanc. Needless to say, it was a rousing performance. Tipitina’s Uptown swelled to capacity on January 15th for Kermit Ruffins’ BBQ Swingers and Rebirth Brass Band. The next night, there was a line down the block to get into the Maple Leaf to see the Irvin Mayfield, Jason Marsalis Group. If this attendance doesn’t demonstrate that the New Orleans live jazz scene is at an all time peak, what does?

Of course, the month of February also offers great jazz. After 15 years on the New York jazz scene, drummer Ricky Sebastian has returned to New Orleans. From 1976 to 1983, he was a prolific and integral part of the New Orleans scene. He then moved up to New York City to become an extremely in-demand recording session and touring artist.

His performing and recording credits include Jaco Pastorius, Les McCann, Nnenna Freelon, Dr. John, John Scofield and Harry Belafonte. Check Sebastian out at The Funky Butt the first two Mondays in February with Chris Severin and Steve Masakowski; also on the 5th with Henry Butler, Brice Winston and Chris Severin. On the 25th at Funky Butt, bassist Jim Singleton and pedal-steel guitarist Dave Easley will resurrect the Three Now Three project under the new moniker Three Now 2 + 2.

Funky jazzers Moore and More enjoy a pre-Mardi Gras double bill at Funky Butt with the wild Magnolias on the 12th, while Rebecca Barry, the talented young tenor player, leads a group on the 17th. She also plays Storyville on the 5th, 6th and 7th.

In the new release department, trumpeter Bob Garrett has put out a surprisingly tasty record, Facade. Despite being a newcomer to the city, Garret possesses an ample supply of warm, swinging chops, so characteristic of New Orleans horn players. He also benefits greatly from a rhythm section composed of drummer Leon Alexander, bassist Tommy Seiple and, for four tracks, pianist Emile Vinette (of the BBQ Swingers). Garrett celebrates the release with a performance February 20th at Louisiana Music Factory.

The long-awaited debut from Quintology comes out this month. Their release party at Snug Harbor is on February 28th. Kaye Dorian sings her heart out on her debut, In Time. Backed by fine musicians like Jim Singleton, Loren Pickford, Geoff Clapp, and Eric Traub, Dorian tackles diverse material like Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain,” the Beatles’ “Honey Pie,” Nina Simone’s “Sugar In My Bowl,” and the challenging “In Walked Bud, Suddenly.” She has good range and a bright, milky voice, a little weak on blues, but strong on swing. When she reaches full maturity, she could possibly give someone like Diana Krall a run for her money. Dorian performs at The Red Room on February 27th.