Sousaphone with the "Young Blood Brass Band"
Tubist with „Sotto Voce Quartet"
Nat McIntosh (b. 1978, Longmont, Colorado) is perhaps best known as co-founder and sousaphonist with the Young Blood Brass Band, an eightpiece brass and drum ensemble that is based in the tradition of a New- Orleans-style brass band.
Throughout his nine years as leader of the group, Nat garnered critical and public acclaim for his many compositions, blending intense brass music with hip-hop, afro-cuban, brazilian, and jazz-funk styles. Serving as the centerpiece of the ensemble was Nat’s innovative sousaphone playing, which served as the dynamic bass voice in the group as well as the “acoustic DJ.” His mastery of numerous extended techniques and the infusion of these with simulated DJ cuts and scratches, pseudo-electronic effects, and the imitation of instruments ranging from an electric guitar to a didgeridoo created an entirely new and inimitable approach to the instrument. He served as producer of YoungBlood’s five albums: Word on the Street, Unlearn, Center:Level:Roar, and Live.Places, a live release recorded during one of their numerous intercontinental tours. He was also recently featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” where he performed one of his solo sousaphone features entitled “The Warrior Comes Out to Play.”
Nat studied tuba performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with John Stevens, where he first met and began to perform with the Sotto Voce Quartet. During this time he also worked extensively as a freelance tubist, euphoniumist, and trombonist in the Madison area.
Nat and his brother, trombonist Ben McIntosh, run McIntosh Musical Services: a music transcription, arranging, and copying business. He also performs as a freelance multi-instrumentalist, playing gigs ranging from classical tuba to salsa trombone to Balkan sousaphone. Nat also serves on the faculty of the Academy of Creative Education, a Los Angeles based summer school for gifted junior high and high school musicians.
Website: http://www.youngbloodbrassband.com
Email: natmcintosh@gmail.com
