Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

On 6 July 2026 at Jazz Cafe, London, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble bring their brass-led hip-hop to the stage. The Chicago group is an octet of horn-playing brothers, sons of jazz trumpeter Kelan Phil Cohran from the Sun Ra Arkestra circle. They carry that lineage into a present-day sound built on tightly locked horn lines, tough rhythms and streetwise chants.

Raised in the Phil Cohran Youth Ensemble and later cutting their teeth busking across Chicago, they’ve shaped a style that nods to New Orleans brass tradition while leaning into avant-garde ideas. The live set folds rap cadences, funk basslines, jazz harmonies and marching-band punch into something direct and physical, driven by call-and-response hooks and precise ensemble hits.

With albums on UK label Honest Jon’s Records and collaborations with Prince, Mos Def and Gorillaz, the band move easily between scenes without losing their core identity. Onstage they play as one: trumpets and trombones trading sharp riffs, low brass locking the groove, drums pushing the beat forward. It’s a show built for movement, where the horns lead and the room follows.