Wynton Marsalis / Eastman Wind Ensemble - Carnaval (1987)

Been meaning to give Marsalis a listen for ages, so this charity shop find came in handy.  It's not exactly typical of his straight-ahead revivalism of pre-60s bop, though - Carnaval reaches even further back to pay homage to the brass bands of the turn of the 20th century.  Not a great introduction to Wynton's trumpet playing either - he sticks to cornet throughout for brass-band lead-instrument authenticity.  But regardless, this is a really nice album.

Marsalis is backed throughout by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, conducted by Donald Hunsberger.  The programme sounds beautifully recorded (full digital, eh, great traditionalist? Shouldn't you have been recording on to Edison cylinders for this project? ;)) and features era-typical brass band repertoire from Jean-Baptiste Arban, Paganini, Rimsky-Korsakov and more.  Ideal music to accompany the last days of mild weather before the change of seasons.

link

pw: sgtg

Williams Fairey Brass Band - Acid Brass (1997)

Picked up a classic charity shop find the other week.  And yep, it's exactly what the cover says - acid house anthems performed by a brass band.  This was the brainchild of London artist Jeremy Deller, who intended the project not to be a comic novelty, but a serious endeavour in drawing commonalities in British working class culture.  Deller went as far as including an elaborate flowchart in the CD booklet, with 'acid house' at one side and 'brass bands' at the other; the various links sometimes interesting, sometimes perhaps a bit spurious in driving his point home.  But enough sociocultural high-concept - as always, I'm more interested in the music.

Deller eventually found a brass band that were game for the challenge in Stockport's Williams Fairey Brass Band, formed in 1937 (I'm guessing this isn't the original lineup on Acid Brass).  Arranging Deller's chosen tracks was composer/arranger Rodney Newton, who also gets an interesting liner note about the challenges of the material, for instance, getting a group of brass band blokes to chant 'voodoo ray' in "low, guttural voices".  A live performance in Liverpool followed, seemingly well received by an audience of all ages.  A limited edition recording of the concert, also titled Acid Brass, was followed by this studio album.

So what does it sound like?  Well, to be honest, mostly like a cod-Mission Impossible/Austin Powers film score (What Time Is Love made me laugh out loud), but no less entertaining for that.  Newton does capture well the main themes and the tension-and-release of the originals, and purely from a melodic standpoint, A Guy Called Gerald's Voodoo Ray and 808 State's Pacific 202 sound lovely, proving their durability as highly original pieces of dance music.  The success of the arrangements can vary - I do like the tuned percussion (glock? marimba?) on those two tracks, and on Nitro Deluxe's Let's Get Brutal.  Derrick May's Strings Of Life doesn't translate quite as well, with its immortal string stabs rather weakly rendered - if anything, a testament to what a stunning work of genius the original was and still is.  Regardless, Acid Brass is a fun listen, especially in the summer sunshine.

link