By Shelley Koppel

Entertainment writer

STUART - The Neville Brothers, often called New Orleans' "First Family of Funk," are enjoying a rebirth similar to the city they love.

They kicked off the year with a Mardi Gras mambo tour with Dr. J, toured in the spring with Neil Young and made a trip to Morocco, where they performed at a festival with Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder.

The Neville Brothers: Aaron, Cyril, Art and Charles, come to the Lyric Theatre on Oct. 16. Charles Neville, who now lives in Massachusetts, spoke recently about the music and their hometown, New Orleans.

Charles Neville was the first of the brothers to leave home, when, at 15, he joined the Navy.

"At first I was bummed out with the Navy sending me to Memphis," he said. "But Beale Street was really jumping and I said, 'This is the place to be.' There were lots of joints with blues and jazz. B.B. King lived there. I had met him before and when I met him in Memphis, I got to play in his band. I found a club where bebop jam sessions were held and I learned a lot from being around those guys.

"When I first started playing jazz sax, Charlie Parker was the bebop master. That was modern jazz then. I guess it's old jazz now. It was what I gravitated toward, although I was steeped in funk."

The Neville Brothers were raised in the Thirteenth Ward in New Orleans and Aaron Neville lost his home in Hurricane Katrina. They returned as a band to return to Jazzfest in 2008 and give the city a boost.

"The city isn't doing that well," Mr. Neville said. "There are some improvements and recovery, but one-third of the city is missing. People are trying to help. My wife's there now.

"Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation and Common Ground have built some houses that are more sustainable and green. They're trying to get a training program to help people learned to work with the new materials. Some of the neighborhoods are coming back, but there are still ghost towns," he said.

A Neville Brothers show is a trip through musical history, starting with their boyhood days in the Big Easy.

"We started playing in the 1950s," Mr. Neville said. "We play all of the eras of music since then. There's classic Neville Brothers funk and things from the Neville Brothers songbook from the '70s on up to now.

"There's a little jazz, a little Latin salsa, some Cuban, maybe some country and a little gospel. The music feels good and makes you want to dance. We really mean it. We don't pretend to put on a show. It's what we feel and what's in our heart."

The Neville Brothers come to the Lyric Theatre, 59 S.W. Flagler Ave., Stuart, on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $55. Call the box office at (772) 286-7827 or order online at www. lyrictheatre.com.