Osesp Bassoon Quartet Playing Take Five: Monday YouTube Fix

I love creative settings of well known tunes.  It doesn't get too much more creative than this arrangement of Paul Desmond's Take Five.  It is not only a great setting of the tune by Alexandre Silvério but all four members of the Osesp Bassoon Quartet (Francisco Formiga , José Arion Linarez, Romeu Rabello, and Silvério) are fantastic. Somewhere, Dave Brubeck is smiling over this arrangement of Take Five for Bassoon Quartet.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/cKBrnjxlKgU

David Guerrier: Monday YouTube Fix

To be honest, I would be okay with never hearing another version of the Carnival of Venice.  But as soon as I say that, I come across a truly effortless and musical rendition like this one, and I'm happy to hear it all over again. French trumpet soloist David Guerrier is one of those players who is so technically accomplished that all that's left to worry about is the storytelling.  This fantastic rendition of the Carnival of Venice is done on an antique coronet.  And if you really want to get mad, he also plays the horn.  What a talent! May we all aspire to have our playing sound as effortless as that of David Guerrier.

Enjoy!

Pharrell Williams' Happy - Trombone Loop: Monday YouTube Fix

This is a spectacular example of someone starting with a creative idea and through technology and the internet, sharing it with the world.  Trombone player Christopher Bill put together this brilliant version of 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams using nothing but his trombone and his body for some percussion. In a little over a month this video already has over 400,000 views and there's a reason for that: It's unique and it's cool as hell.  This thing made my day.

Enjoy!

Oscar Peterson Trio: Monday YouTube Fix

If I could play the piano like Oscar Peterson, I would never get off the piano bench.  His ability to solo both vertically and horizontally in such a fluid manner was truly stunning.  I love listening to him periodically sing along with himself in this clip. Ray Brown has always been one of my heroes, someone whose playing I try to emulate when playing bass lines on the tuba.  You then throw in the sweeping phrasing of Ed Thigpen on the drums and you've got one hell of a band.

This version of C Jam Blues was recorded live in Denmark in 1964.  Oh to have been in the crowd on this occasion.  It makes me happy to see that this video has over one million views.

Enjoy!

Scheherazade/Vienna Philharmonic: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Valery Gergiev performing Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" live at the Salzburg Festival in 2005. Enjoy!

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet: Monday YouTube Fix

This is a live performance of Carl Nielsen's Wind Quintet, Opus 43, played by the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet.  This was performed on October 5, 2012 at the Samobor Music Festival in Croatia. The Performers:

Michael Hasel, Flute Andreas Wittmann, Oboe Walter Seyfarth, Clarinet Fergus McWilliam, Horn Marion Reinhard, Bassoon

The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet is everything I look for in a chamber ensemble.  Each member is playing every note like a soloist and yet the most important line or lines are always stepping to the foreground.

I instantly fell in love with the music of Carl Nielsen when I performed his Fifth Symphony at Tanglewood as a high school student.  He was a brilliant composer and his Wind Quintet is simply fantastic.

Enjoy!

Paco de Lucia: Monday YouTube Fix

Last week the world lost one of the greatest musicians of all time, Paco de Lucia.  This performance of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" for guitar and orchestra, will leave you speechless.  If there is a musician who phrases with more relentless passion than Paco de Lucia did, I am not familiar with them. The second movement of this live performance is spellbinding.  When commenting on this melody, Miles Davis once said  "That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the stronger you play it, the weaker it gets." I've never heard it played better than Paco does here.

We lost a truly great one last week.  RIP, Paco.

2CELLOS: Monday YouTube Fix

Judging by the fact this video has over four million views, I think I may be the last person on the internet to watch it.  I have stated for many years that if I had to play another instrument, it would be the cello.  When you combine that with the fact that my second ever rock and roll concert was seeing AC/DC on November 2, 1990 at the Worcester Centrum and you might correctly assume that this clip does it for me. Aside from my love of the cello and AC/DC, this arrangement of Thunderstruck is truly striking.  The repetitive rock and roll riffs are played effortlessly and the vocal parts are performed perfectly, which is not an easy task on any instrument.  The driving energy of this arrangement is just awesome.

I can't believe it took me until to today to see this clip.  Thanks to my friend @cglush for sending it my way.  For those about to rock, we salute you...

Leonard Bernstein/Nielsen 3: Monday YouTube Fix

It never ceases to amaze me the depth of historical recordings that are now available for us to stream from the comforts of our own homes.  This is a fantastic live recording of the Royal Danish Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein performing Nielsen's 3rd Symphony in 1965. You can always hear when an orchestra is, to a man and woman, on the same page with a conductor.  My friends in the best symphony orchestras in the world tell me this sadly doesn't happen as often as we'd like to think.  You can instantly tell both by listening and watching this clip that the Royal Danish Orchestra was thrilled to have Leonard Bernstein on the podium.

The closeups of Bernstein are wonderful! His facial expressions convey the pure joy he frequently experienced on the podium.  Talk about a rewarding conductor to play for.  He was a master in the truest sense of the word.

Enjoy!

Claudio Abbado: Monday YouTube Fix

The world lost one of the greats when Claudio Abbado, 80, passed away earlier today in Bologna, Italy.  His many accomplishments included being the music director of La Scala as well as being the successor to Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic. This clip perfectly shows the intensity that Abbado brought to the podium.  At the conclusion of this performance of Mozart's 'Requiem' by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, he paused for a full 40 seconds of silence before ending the performance, including a very intense glance upwards.  This is a man in the later stages of life cherishing every moment on the podium.

This clip gives me goosebumps every time I see it.  RIP, maestro.  You were truly one of the greats.