What started as a loose collaboration at an open-mic night in 2011 has grown into a mesmerizing musical force that's only picking up speed. After her team won the National Poetry Slam Championship two years in a row, Ball turned her full attention to Tank and the Bangas. "Growing up, I always could sing, but I wrote better than I sang, so I focused on writing," she says. She came up in the strong local slam poetry scene before meeting her bandmates: Merell Burkett on keyboards, Joshua Johnson on drums, Norman Spence on bass and synth keys and, eventually, Albert Allenback on alto sax and flute. She fronts the band with vivid charisma that helped Tank and the Bangas win NPR's 2017 Tiny Desk Concert Contest by unanimous acclaim, standing out among 6,000 entrants because of what Bob Boilen called "the depth of their lyricism and the versatility of their players." Those same qualities also attracted the attention of Verve Records, which has signed the band.īall's lyrical depth has been years in the making. "It's music that can't really be put in a box," says singer and poet Tarriona "Tank" Ball. And the five-piece group has a rare knack for combining various musical styles - fiery soul, deft hip-hop, deep-groove R&B and subtle jazz - into one dazzling, cohesive whole that evokes the scope of New Orleans music while retaining a distinctive feel all its own. Coming from New Orleans, Tank and the Bangas are surrounded by plenty of grand musical traditions.
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