Hypnotica Exotica!

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble cut their teeth playing as a family band and on the streets of New York City.

After moving to the Big Apple in 1995 from their home town of Chicago, Illinois, they have made their way to bigger stages in the U.S. and Europe, H.B.E. have performed with Mos Def, Ghostface Killah, Mike Jones, Aquilla Sadalla and have also recorded in the studio with the likes of Erykah Badu and Maxwell.

Cumulatively, they are the 7 youngest [of 15 sons] of the highly regarded jazz virtuoso Kelan Phil Cohran, who was famed for his work with Sun Ra's Arkestra and was a founder of AACM, [The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians] a non-profit organization whose charter included the devotion "to nurturing, performing, and recording serious, original music" and whose motto is, "Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future."

Members of AACM included The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Jack DeJohnette, Leroy Jenkins, Henry Threadgill among others.

The eighth member is drummer 360 [aka Christopher Anderson] who rounds out the line-up and is also considered "family."

When the boys were between 3 and 5, Mr. Cohran taught them to play trumpet, tuba, drums, French horn, cornet and trombone. He would wake them at 5 a.m. for practice in their room, lined with bunk beds. First the boys were given just mouthpieces. Only when they could produce a pure sound did they graduate to the body of the instrument.

The creation of H.B.E in 1999, after a go as a hip-hop group called the Wolf Pack, represented their return to their childhood learned instruments and one another after teenage rebellions, including quitting music for a period of time, against their father’s stern principles.

The "Hypnotics" carry with them the history of their seminal heritage and the legacy of vintage brass ensembles, like the ones that often used to grace Louisiana's French Quarter for celebrations and ceremonial stylings yet their style also incorporates 60's R&B, 70's Funk and contemporary Hip-Hop into it's quotient.

Open-minded about their music, the group furthers the teachings of their father, echoing his message and bringing something substantial to their street sound, though H.B.E. prefer a more teasing approach. Tariq laughs as he explains their guerrilla approach to live shows: "We like to make your mouth water . . . give it to you in bits and pieces at a time, so you'll want more."

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