Gangbé Brass Band

The Gangbé Brass Band is a 10-member Beninese musical ensemble founded in 1994.The word "gangbe" means "sound of metal" in the Fon language.They blend West African jùjú and traditional Vodou music with Western jazz and big-band sounds.Their unusual instrumentation---trumpet, trombone, and tuba, along with West African percussion and vocals---is, to some extent, part of West Africa's colonial legacy; French colonial officers imported brass instruments and trained local musicians to play European-style military and dance hall music.Gangbe has released five albums: "Gangbe" (1998), "Togbe" (2001), "Whendo" (2004), "Assiko" (2008), and "Go slow to Lagos" (2015) and tours extensively in Europe and North America.