One of the great New Orleans acts, Hot 8 have pushed on through a barely imaginable series of trials. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the separate deaths of four of their band members, and the horror of trumpeter Terrell "Burger" Batiste losing his legs in a car crash, conspired to test these men almost to breaking point. They march together and they play their music - a rambunctious yet elegant and super-tight mix of jazz, funk and hip hop - not merely as though, but because their lives depend on it. The recording sessions for "Vicennial..." saw Hot 8 Brass Band welcoming former members back into the studio, as well as featuring performances from family members of their fallen bandmates (from siblings through to grandparents), giving even more meaning and poignancy to each track, whether new or a revision of one of their classics.