(courtesy NPR) The Brooklyn jazz quartet Endangered Blood was formed in 2008 so its members could play benefit concerts for their friend, saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo, who'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor. D'Angelo eventually made a full recovery, but the group — Trevor Dunn (bass), Jim Black (drums), Chris Speed (tenor saxophone) and Oscar Noriega (alto saxophone) — realized that this ensemble had potential to become a real working band. In 2011, the four released a self titled debut album. Endangered Blood's music draws from the members' diverse backgrounds and influences, combining post-bop, 20th-century chromaticism, traditional New Orleans funeral marches, avant-garde jazz and post-punk to create a sort of mad-scientist concoction. Its compositions are cerebral, but they're also gritty and full of energy. Endangered Blood recently stopped by the NPR Music offices while touring through Washington, D.C. Coming from the truck stops of the American South, they could have passed for grunge or punk rockers if they didn't have their saxophones with them (not to mention Speed's porkpie hat). With trucker caps and leather wristbands in tow, the quartet carried off a raw, edgy aesthetic — one more reminder of jazz's immediacy today.