Brass Recording Project Outtake: Monday YouTube Fix

This moment from the recently completed Brass Recording Project session is just too funny not to share. (Check back here soon for a full rundown of four of the most fun days of any of our careers.)

One of the tunes we recorded for the premiere Brass Recording Project album was Henry Fillmore's "Circus Bee" march.  After we got it in the can, Lance LaDuke (trombone, euphonium, all-around jackass) lost his mind and started doing a one man band version of the march.  I've already said too much.

Enjoy! And follow the Brass Recording Project on Facebook.  Cheers!

Eric Dolphy: Monday YouTube Fix

Eric Dolphy was one of many genius musicians who was taken from us way too early.  He tragically died from a coma brought on by an undiagnosed diabetic coma at the age of 36.  Whether he was playing the saxophone, the flute, or as in this clip, the bass clarinet, his phrasing had a purity and urgency that demanded the listener's full attention. As any musician will tell you, playing an unaccompanied solo in any genre is one of the most difficult things to do in music.  Even for a short clip like this one, it is difficult to keep things interesting.  I find this version of God Bless The Child absolutely mesmerizing.  Dolphy's playing is beyond engaging.  So many notes and yet the phrasing, not the virtuosity, stand out above everything else.

He had so much music left to make.  It is a shame we lost him so soon.  And unlike many of his contemporaries who also died at an early age, Dolphy was not involved with drugs and did not kill himself through excess.  Such a shame.

Chewbacca Sings Silent Night: Monday YouTube Fix

You really can't make this stuff up. Merry Christmas!

Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan - Monday YouTube Fix

I am a huge fan of the recordings Gerry Mulligan did without any chordal instruments, such as this one or the very famous sessions he did with Chet Baker.  Two melodic instruments accompanied by only bass and drums leaves so much room for the music to breathe.  It also gives the songs a transparent quality that makes it very easy to process and very pleasant to listen to. This recording of "All The Things You Are" from 1962 features:

Paul Desmond - Alto Sax Gerry Mulligan - Baritone Sax Wendell Marshall - Bass Connie Kay - Drums

One of the commenters on YouTube linked to a perfect transcription of both solos on adjoining staffs.  Following along with both the solos and the chords is a great lesson.  The internet is filled with nuggets like this, we just have to find them!

Enjoy!

The King's Singers: Monday YouTube Fix

All of the great instrumentalists in the world are simply trying their best to sound like vocalists.  The King's Singers are an impeccable example of blend, ensemble, phrasing, intonation, everything.  They sound like one person singing all of the parts simultaneously. This is a stunning version of The Christmas Song.  It really is remarkable how tight they are.

Enjoy!

Jean-Pierre Rampal - Flute: Monday YouTube Fix

This video is two hours of footage of Jean-Pierre Rampal performing live on Radio-Canada telecasts from 1956-1966.  He performs a wide range of music.  A lot of it features another brilliant French musician, Robert Veyron-Lacroix, on harpsichord. In the event you are not familiar with this legendary flutist, two things will immediately strike you: his tone and his phrasing.  Rampal is one of those musicians who makes everything sound both effortless and elegant.  He is one of the most famous instrumentalists of all time for good reason.

He performs works by Mozart, Bach, Haydn, Boccherini and Couperin.  I don't know how any musician could listen to this and not play more musically the next time they play their instrument.

Enjoy!

Yuja Wang: Monday YouTube Fix

This past weekend, my wife Tiffany and I traveled to Philadelphia to see the Philadelphia Orchestra perform both Ein Heldenleben and the Wind Serenade of Richard Strauss.  I did not know what the first half of the program until we arrived.  I was delighted to discover that it was Yuja Wang performing Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto.  I had heard wonderful things about her playing and of course always get excited about the prospects of seeing someone perform the piano works of Rachmaninoff. The entire performance was truly stunning.  It was a magical program and the orchestra, from Ricardo Morales in the woodwinds to Carol Jantsch in the brass, sounded absolutely superb.  I have seen hundreds of orchestral performances in my life and this was absolutely near the top of the list.  One of the reasons for this was the breathtaking performance of Yuja Wang to open the program.

Her level of artistry was impressive, both her interpretation and execution.  Here is a clip of her performing another monster of the romantic piano repertoire, Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto.  This performance features Hannu Lintu leading the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a live performance from Helsinki in 2012.

Enjoy!

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble: Monday YouTube Fix

When I think of the best examples of tone when it comes to brass playing, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble immediately comes to mind.  To my ears, there has never been another brass ensemble with such a unified concept of sound.  Their blend borders on surreal. This is a complete live concert of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and the playing is nothing short of inspiring.  The lineup of players is one for the ages:

Trumpets: Simon Ferguson, Graham Ashton, Paul Archibald, Philip Jones.

Horn: Frank Lloyd

Trombones: Roger Harvey, Christopher Mowat, David Purser (doubling euphonium), Ray Premru

Tuba: John Fletcher

If you are a young tuba player and John Fletcher is not one of your heroes, chances are overwhelmingly good that John Fletcher is one of your hero's heroes.  He was a musician's musician who was taken from us well before his time.

Enjoy this stellar playing!

David Oistrakh - Sibelius Violin Concerto: Monday YouTube Fix

The Sibelius Violin Concerto is one of the most intense concertos ever written for the violin.  I personally love how it wastes absolutely no time whatsoever getting down to business.  The soloist is thrust into incredibly technical passages in the first two minutes of the piece! I'm not sure I've ever heard it performed better than by David Oistrakh. Some consider Oistrakh to be the greatest violinist of all time and I don't see how you could have that conversation and not at the very least include him in it.  His playing speaks for itself.

This is a studio recording from 1959 with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra and it is magical.

Enjoy!

Arthur Grumiaux: Monday YouTube Fix

Simply put, Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux (1921-1986) is one of the great artists of the 20th century.  My favorite aspects of Grumiaux's playing are his interpretations and the evenness of his tone.  Like all of the greats on every instrument, he gets the exact same tone on the shortest notes as he does on the longest ones. He's known in particular for his interpretations of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart amongst other composers.  There is a calm intensity behind every note that he plays which is inspiring.  This is a magnificent performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D.  It was performed at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1965.  He is accompanied by the Orchestre National de l'ORTF.

Enjoy!