On November 12th, New York City subway-born brass house band Too Many Zooz set their sights on Paris for the next stop of their tour. Taking place at the legendary New Morning, a Parisian music venue known for its intimate atmosphere and eclectic programming, spanning jazz, blues, soul, world music, and contemporary artists.
As doors opened at 7:30 PM, people entered the venue, flooding the bar and comfortable red leather seats surrounding the stage. Drink in hand, the crowd slowly gathered in front of the stage. The ambiance was chill, the calm before the Brass House storm. A little over an hour later, trumpet player Matt Doe and percussionist King of Sludge walked on stage to the crowd cheering. The concert started slowly, a piano and drums intro played as the final member of the band, saxophonist Leo P joined to speed up the tempo. With his iconic dance moves and fast playing, Leo would absolutely wake up the Parisian venue. Playing song after song for 20 minutes straight, the energy in the crowd would only rise. The trumpet and saxophone clashed in an astonishing contrast while being backed up by the drums, a harmony unique to Too Many Zooz.
The band finally introduced themselves, explaining their roots as musicians in the New York City Subway. They went on to play the first 3 songs they ever wrote to a receptive audience, cheering, jumping and dancing, though no one would be able to challenge Leo’s moves. Turning the stage into his own dancefloor he put on a show that people absolutely loved. The audience was so captivated that almost no phones were out, even during the most anticipated songs. A statement of the band’s masterclass of talent, almost hypnotizing the crowd.
As the songs went by, the energy rose and the pace sped up, the crowd chanted “Hey! Hey! Hey!” following King of Sludge’s rhythms, a moment out of time, where people solely focused on the performance. Leo and King of Sludge would follow up with a jam, just the two of them like in the beginning, a show of their sheer talent and chemistry. As the jam ended the band looked ready to start another song but stood in silence, creating a tense suspense into the craziest start. The crowd went absolutely wild.
The show would reach its final stage as Matt announced the last song. Even after a whole hour of dancing the crowd was still filled with energy. As the song ended the band left the stage, but the crowd knew it wasn’t over, calling for one final song. Matt, Joe and King of Sludge answered, coming back on stage to light up the Parisian venue one last time.
Matt and Joe would come to the merch table to meet up with fans after the show, signing vinyls, CDs and taking pictures. This truly showed the closeness between the band and their audience at shows, always playing in intimate venues or even performing in the crowd itself during festivals. They even had time for some pictures to be taken! Ultimately, the venue closed and people left, walking in Paris as the saxophone and trumpet still resonated in their ears.
Written by: Leny Munier
Photographed by: Leny Munier
Edited by: Mandy Huibregtsen
