Heritage Blues Orchestra

True to the heritage part of its name, the New York City-based Heritage Blues Orchestra sticks mostly to traditional blues material, but bolstered by a New Orleans-like horn section and a good dose of both jazz and gospel sensibilities, the group has found a way to make that traditional material sound fresh and new. The core of the band is the trio of Junior Mack (guitar), Bill Sims Jr. (guitar), and Sims' daughter Chaney Sims, all three of whom share vocals. The "orchestra" part of the group consists of Vincent Bucher (harmonica), Kenny Smith (drums), and a horn section of Bruno Wilhelm (tenor saxophone), Kenny Rampton (trumpet), Steve Wiseman (trumpet), and Clark Gayton (trombone, tuba, and sousaphone). Signed to Raisin Music, the band released its debut album, And Still I Rise, in February of 2012.