Brass Queens: NY Slice Session 2025

A true New York City band, Brass Queens have played all over this town; from the Blue Note to Brooklyn Bowl, even underground in the subways. They've been around since 2019 when co-founders Alex Harris and Ally Chapel realized that there was no female brass bands in the New York City area — and set about changing that fact.

Recently, the band brought their brass to the Bronx for a "NY Slice" session. This all-female, nine-piece brass band does a great mix of covers, ranging from TLC to the Temptations, and original tunes. One of my favorites of their own songs is "New Yawk Nawty" from 2023's Black & Gold.

Brass Queens' latest album, Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1, was released last year and might be their strongest collection of songs to date — and yes, it was inspired by actual time spent in a hotel's hot tub on one of their rare nights off.

While soaking in that tub, the bandmates — Harris (trumpet), Chapel (alto sax), Stephanie King (trumpet), Minerva Johnson (trumpet), Elizabeth Arce (trombone), Stephanie Young (trombone), Nora Nalepka (sousaphone) and Ashley Baier (drums) — talked about the joys and challenges of making music as women in a male-dominated industry. While the new album adheres to their New Orleans brand of brassy exuberance, it's also a showcase of the friendship that these gifted musicians share.

One of Brass Queens' goals is to take up more space in the music industry — and one of my goals is to make more space for groups like them. Watch video of two of their songs drawn from Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1: "Make Believe" (featuring a solo from Johnson on trumpet) and "Moon Shine" (with solo turns from Chapel and King). Watch Young and Baier take the "NY Slice" pop quiz and explain why women "kick brass."

[Recorded: 3/3//25. Engineered by Jim O'Hara with Erin Merriman, Nadia Garriga, and Thomas Lapus. Produced by Meghan Suma. Videographers: Adithi Vimalanathan,  Therese Burgo, and Gina Slavin.]