“And Wynton said, ‘Man, this sounds like New Orleans!’ And there is that cross-relation of those rhythms, that feel, that buoyancy, that swing that Punjabi music has, that the dhol has.’’
As an up-and-coming jazz drummer with numerous awards and commissions over the past decade, Jain has had plenty of chances to swing behind the drum set. But it’s in his role as a dholi, or dhol player, that Jain swings the hardest, leading Red Baraat, the unique and highly funky hybrid of a marching band that he founded four years ago in Brooklyn.
A nine-piece outfit as diverse in ethnic origins as in musical affinities - bhangra, Bollywood, funk, go-go, and hip-hop are a few ingredients - Red Baraat has made a joyous and sweaty mess of small dance floors and prestigious stages from its New York base to big-time national and European festivals. Its Boston debut comes Wednesday at T.T. the Bear’s.
Its energy is captured on the group’s first CD, 2010’s “Chaal Baby,’’ and even better, on the live set “Bootleg Bhangra,’’ recorded at the Brooklyn club Southpaw. A take on the Punjabi hit “Hey Jamalo’’ features a passage of Spanish vocals. On “Baraat to Nowhere,’’ the MC urges the crowd to strip, “nakedness bumping on the dance floor.’’ At times the horn section sounds positively avant-garde. A honking sousaphone holds up the bottom.
The lineup expands on that of a baraat band, the brass and drum band that escorts a Punjabi groom to his wedding. But the natural US reference, if for the sheer verve alone, is indeed New Orleans and its brass bands such as the Soul Rebels, Rebirth or Hot 8.
Red Baraat has performed, in fact, at the city’s Jazz Fest and at some of its clubs. “It’s deep,’’ Jain says. “This group never was necessarily borrowing from New Orleans music. But we were welcomed instantly. There’s a kinship. It was almost like a stamp of approval.’’
