Phish: Monday YouTube Fix

Many of you know that I am rather fond of the band Phish.  In fact, this week will mark my 172nd and 173rd shows when I see them in Portsmouth, VA.  They are my favorite chamber ensemble for reasons I could articulate for a few thousand words.  But you're in luck: I won't! Instead, here's a clip from earlier this summer in Chicago.  This song, The Wedge, has been performed over 70 times and every version but two have been about five minutes long.  This one took a random turn and ended up featuring a fantastic section of improv that was completely unexpected.  This is exactly what I love about Phish.

Enjoy!

Leonard Bernstein & Vienna Philharmonic - Mahler 1: Monday YouTube Fix

I don't know about you, but my Monday could sure use a video of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic doing Mahler's First Symphony. This is simply breathtaking stuff. Enjoy!

New York Philharmonic in North Korea: Monday YouTube Fix

I just stumbled onto this video of the New York Philharmonic's historic trip to North Korea.  This is a video of George Gershwin's "An American In Paris" from their concert at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre on February 26, 2008 conducted by Lorin Maazel. Not only is this one of the most famous orchestral concerts from the last half century, but the orchestra sounds phenomenal.  Especially the brass! Joe Alessi, Alan Baer, Phil Smith and Philip Myers as well as the entire rest of the brass sections just sound fantastic.  Alan's tuba solo from this version of "An American In Paris" is spot on.

Enjoy!

Game of Thrones Theme (Epic Low Brass Version): Monday YouTube Fix

Okay this is awesome! My friend Andy Bove, who I interviewed for my book, "A Band Director's Guide to Everything Tuba: A Collection of Interviews with the Experts", put together one of the most impressive low brass ensembles every formed for this video. So what did he decide to record with this collection of low brass players? The theme to Game of Thrones, of course! Seriously, you have to hear this.  It got well over 100,000 views almost overnight and is already at over 200,000 and rising.  It will rattle your windows.

This is the ridiculous lineup of players he assembled for this recording:

George Curran • bass and contrabass trombone George Flynn • bass and contrabass trombone Matt Ingman • bass and contrabass trombone Jeff Nelson • bass and contrabass trombone James Rogers • bass and contrabass trombone Jack Schatz • bass and contrabass trombone Patrick Herb • bass trombone Mark Johansen • bass trombone Christopher Olness • bass trombone Max Seigel • bass trombone Dale Turk • bass trombone Tim Albright • tenor trombone Demian Austin • tenor trombone Mike Boschen • tenor trombone Thomas Hutchinson • tenor trombone William Lang • tenor trombone Jörgen van Rijen • tenor trombone Andrew Bove • tuba and cimbasso Stephen Johns • tuba and cimbasso Morris Kainuma • tuba and cimbasso Joe Exely • tuba Chuck Kerrigan • tuba Marcus Rojas • tuba

Help support Bove Audio do more things like this by buying this track for $.99 if you dig it.

Enjoy!

Cheryl Studer Sings Elsa's Dream from Lohengrin: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is a clip of American soprano Cheryl Studer singing Elsa's Dream from Wagner's Lohengrin from Bayreuth in 1991.  This is the kind of beautiful and effortless phrasing that all of us instrumentalists are always trying to mimic. Enjoy!

JJ Johnson: Monday YouTube Fix

This interview clip is only 90 seconds long, but the very end of this interview with JJ Johnson gets right to the heart of the matter: "I wish that somebody, someday, would find a shortcut and I wish they'd tell me about it." One of the best instrumentalists of all-time talking about the secret to his success.

Enjoy!

No BS! Brass: Monday YouTube Fix

This past week I was soloing with the Bird High School Wind Symphony outside of Richmond and had the privilege of meeting the tuba player for Richmond's No BS! Brass, Stefan Demetriadis.  I've been a big fan of his and the entire band for a while now.  They are a fantastic brass band in the New Orleans tradition but they've absolutely got their own sound. Any band that describes themselves as "fearlessly combining elements of James Brown, John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, and Led Zeppelin" has got my attention.  Stefan holds down the low end like a champ.  This video is totally kick ass.

Enjoy!

Chicago Symphony with Leonard Bernstein/Shostakovich 7: Monday YouTube Fix

This is my absolute favorite orchestral recording of all time.  Leonard Bernstein was known as a virtuosic interpreter of a number of composers and Shostakovich was one of them.  This recording of Shostakovich 7 is as fine an example of the great brass tradition of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as exists. There is something about this piece, this orchestra, this conductor. It's just perfect.

This YouTube clip actually has the score of the symphony scrolling by in real time with the music.  If you've never heard this before, I would encourage you to get a pair of headphones, ignore the score, close your eyes, and prepare to be taken on a journey.

I'm pretty sure Bernstein is smiling somewhere every time someone hears this recording for the first time and does a fist pump.

Enjoy!

Mnozil Brass Featuring Wilfried Brandstötter: Monday YouTube Fix

Wilfried Brandstötter is one of the best tuba players in the world and Mnozil Brass are not only some of the best players, but some of the best entertainers this world has ever seen.  This tuba solo is just silly good, both musically and conceptually from a staging standpoint. One of the highlights of my 14 years with Boston Brass was a brass festival in Austria where we shared the bill with Mnozil Brass in 2012.  It was an honor getting to see them play and getting to know them.  Wilfried is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet in the music business.  And what a monster player, as this clip displays.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Rul-qYAGQ

Marin Tinev Playing Strauss Oboe Concerto: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is a fantastic live performance of Richard Strauss' Concerto for Oboe in D Major by Marin Tinev.  Sebastian Tewinkel is leading the Orchestra of the Trossingen Musikhochschule in a performance from May 8, 2013 at the Franziskaner Konzerthaus in Villingen, Germany. I love Strauss and I love oboe solos so I couldn't go wrong with this clip!

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/AprDqEvUtmI