Celebratory street music of the type performed by The Hot 8 Brass Band has been an integral part of African-American social life in New Orleans for well over a century. Brass bands like The Hot 8 not only provide joyous sounds in times of celebration and sorrow; their syncopated second-line rhythms have also had a huge influence on the development of Crescent City music, from the hot rhythms of early jazz to the heavy backbeat of the funk and soul of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Though The Hot 8’s music may be best appreciated in a live setting, their studio records still convey their invigorating musical dynamism. The Life & Times Of… is The Hot 8’s second full-length on the U.K.-based Tru Thoughts label. It’s a touch less uninhibited than its immediate predecessor (Rock with the Hot 8), but it's still bursting with a sense of joyous spontaneity that remains irrepressible even as they start to tackle more sophisticated arrangements. The Hot 8 have always been adept at refashioning classics to fit their particular musical mold; Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was a revelatory staple of their early live sets. Life & Times boasts a clutch of stellar covers, including a simmering reimagining of The Specials’ “Ghost Town."