One of the very few positives that Hurricane Katrina brought about, (perhaps the only positive unless you count Brad Pitt’s architecture hobby or Kanye West’s nationally-broadcast sentiment regarding George W’s feelings towards black people), was the renewed interest it sparked in the city’s deeply rooted jazz and blues history. Perhaps no other New Orleans band today is a better example of this revival than the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. For those unfamiliar with the southern powerhouse, Dirty Dozen, in a sense, did for the New Orleans Dixieland sound what Martin, Medeski and Wood did for jazz: made it cool and accessible to a generation that had since forgotten the glory of screaming horns. Constantly touring since the early 1980’s, Dirty Dozen continues to meld traditional standards into modern concoctions infused with youthful funk and just a twinge of rockabilly and bebop, a sound so lively that it’s attracted the likes of Modest Mouse (who used the Dirty Dozen for recording on Good News For People Who Love Bad News) as well as The Black Crowes, Elvis Costello and Galactic. Known for their lively showmanship, go prepared to dance and sweat and get in touch with those southern roots you’ve denied for so long.

Thu., Feb. 12, 7 p.m., 2009