A megaphone is standard equipment for Sunshine Brass, on a par with trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, banjo, sousaphone and drums. That makes their approach clear: this band plays wherever the people are. Sometimes they perform on stage with a sound system, sometimes right in the middle of the audience on tables and benches, and sometimes they provide discreet background music for a festive meal.
In 2001, five musician friends from Suhl set out to conquer the festivals and stages of their Thüringen home. Today there are six of them. They describe their music as handmade and Finest Street Jazz, and they do without any backing tracks whatsoever. The members bring experience from classical music, big band, show, gala, and wind and party music, and that versatility can be heard in the program.
Their repertoire ranges from traditional Dixieland to internationally known classics and their own crowd-pleasers. The frontline of trumpet, clarinet, saxophone and trombone is broader than in a classic New Orleans band, allowing the arrangements to combine harmonized ensemble passages with collective improvisation. Banjo and sousaphone keep the marching pulse going, while the drums provide the kicks and breaks. The band uses the megaphone for announcements, singing and occasional interjections that sound as if they came straight from a gramophone horn.
For many years, the musical inspiration behind the band was Karl-Heinz Franz, trombonist, guitarist, banjo player and co-founder of the band. He died in June 2023 at the age of 85. Sunshine Brass continues to play his arrangements and, as the musicians say, carry them out into the Dixieland world.
The band has a close relationship with Dresden. Since 2006, it has been a regular guest at the Dixieland-Festival, on the Jazzmeile in the city centre, at Family Day at the zoo and on the paddle steamers. In September 2020, when many stages were closed, it played in the beer garden of the Blasewitzer Schillergarten at the closing event of the “Künstler für Künstler” series, which supported freelance musicians. At the time, the announcement called them the favourites of the Dixieland-Festival. When the sousaphone sets off and the clarinet trills above it, the audience usually follows without hesitation.
