Courtesy Jeffrey DupuisRebirth Brass Band

The Rebirth Brass Band was long-established in its home town of New Orleans and world renowned for its modern take on that city’s brass-band tradition long before it won a Grammy.

Still, receiving that famous golden gramophone statue, which honored Rebirth’s 2011 record “Rebirth of New Orleans” as Best Regional Roots Music Album, was a thrill for a band that had already seen and done just about everything since forming in 1983.

“It was pretty amazing, because we didn’t expect to (win),” said drummer Keith Frazier, a founding member of the band, which will play a show in Bend on Wednesday (see “If you go”). “We were just excited about the process of getting nominated, because it’s truly hard to get nominated. So we actually won. It was a great experience. We went to the Grammys to get the Grammy, and that was an even better experience, hanging out with some of the biggest stars in the industry.”

When it came time to record a follow up to “Rebirth,” the band had but one mission: Put down a collection of tracks that live up to the kinetic title of “Move Your Body,” released in June by Basin Street Records.

The weight of the Grammy award had little to no effect on the band as it entered the studio, Frazier said.

“We just kind of went in the way we normally do it,” he said. “We just went in and tried to put down the best music (and) do the songs we know people like, and that we like a lot. And that’s kind of the way we did it.”

He continued: “We always talk about (how) we like to get people out moving. Sometimes people will listen to music and only hear jazz,” Frazier said. “‘Oh, this is kind of like jazz, or New Orleans.’ They think, ‘Ooh, this is the kind of music you listen to.’ We’re like, ‘No, this is music you move to.’”

To that end, Rebirth mixes funk, soul, hip-hop and other elements into its vibrant brass-bound sound, which of course has a long and storied tradition in New Orleans, one of the cradles of American music..

So does Frazier. His interest in playing music began way back in his early teens, when he started playing the baritone horn.

“The drumming was kind of a side thing,” he said. “I got started (playing music) in junior high school. That’s when my brother, (tuba player and Rebirth co-founder) Philip Frazier was playing music and I got interested that way. I was like, ‘OK, he’s playing, I want to play too.’”

The tradition of the brass band continues in New Orleans, said Frazier, who makes frequent trips back to the city from his adopted home of Dallas, where he moved after Hurricane Katrina.

“There’s quite a few young brass bands coming up right now: TBC (To Be Continued), Da Truth, One Generation, New Breeze. Quite a few of them,” he said. “So we never really think about the future of where brass band music is going because young kids are really starting to pick it up.”

He doesn’t expect that to change, despite the zillions of distractions that can throw kids off their practice schedule these days.

“Most of our schools have marching bands, and it’s something they can learn at a very young age, like, ‘OK, I’m in marching band. I can transition from marching band to brass band pretty easily.’ So it kind of holds their interest,” he said.

Rebirth’s mandate for Wednesday’s show in Bend is — well, you know the title of the new album (which will be available at the merch table, promised Frazier).

“Like our album says (there will be) a lot of movement. We encourage people, always, to get up and dance and have a good time,” he said. “Our music is very lively. It makes you want to move, so people can expect a lot of uptempo music that will make you want to get up and dance.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0349, djasper@bendbulletin.com