Baby Boyz Brass Band traces its origins to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the Gentilly home of the Hall family flooded, displacing them for a year and a half. Upon returning to New Orleans, young Glenn Hall III — a jazz student at NOCCA who'd wanted his own band since age six and plays several brass and percussion instruments as well as piano — told his parents he wanted to start a band and needed a place to rehearse. His parents, Patrice and Glenn Hall, opened their home, suggested the name "Baby Boyz," and helped the young musicians develop the group, booking their first public performance in the summer of 2007 at the "Old School in the Park" Sunday music series in Armstrong Park.
The band is made up of two sets of cousins drawn from families deeply woven into New Orleans music history, including Glenn Hall on trumpet, Glen Finister on snare, and bass drummer Jenard Andrews, a member of the Andrews family. As students of McDonogh 35 High School, the young musicians looked to Rebirth Brass Band and the Hot 8 Brass Band as direct mentors, absorbing the tradition of New Orleans brass band music from some of its most celebrated modern practitioners.
Baby Boyz Brass Band has become a regular presence at Mardi Gras celebrations, including performances at the beloved "Mardi Gras Under the Bridge" gathering at Orleans and Claiborne, blending jazz, funk, and R&B/hip-hop into their sets, including tracks like "D-Boy" and "Ooh Nah Nay." The band remains a genuine example of New Orleans' living brass band tradition, carried forward by a new generation raised inside the city's musical families.
