One of the most grown-up review sites around

2020
54,416 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here

     
  
 

 

International mailing

 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

BUY NOW 

Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS Midprice

The London Trumpet Sound - Volume 2
SANDOVAL arr. Tony RICKARD
Mambo Caliente
CARILLO arr. Richard PAYNE
Dos Gardenias
WHITFIELD/STRONG arr. Roger HARVEY
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
John WILLIAMS arr. Paul SARCICH
Superman
CARRELL/CLAYTON arr. Daryl RUNSWICK
Amazing Grace
Leoš JANÁČEK
Fanfare from Sinfonietta
ARBAN arr. Paul SARCICH
The Carnival of Venice
G F HANDEL arr. Simon WRIGHT
Music for the Royal Fireworks (Ouverture, La Réjouissance, Menuet)
Aaron COPLAND arr. Tony RICKARD
Hoedown from Rodeo
The London Trumpet Sound/Geoffrey Simon
Recorded at BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, 22nd-23rd August 2001 and at St. Jude-
on-the Hill, London, 24th-25th August 2001
CALA CACD 0114 [44:38]

In their London Sound Series, Cala Records (www.calarecords.com) say that they seek "to bring together numbers of virtuoso performers on a given instrument, aligning them with talented and sympathetic arrangers." They have certainly achieved that here. The list of performers reads like a roll of honour of the top, in many cases, legendary, names of the British brass scene. Maurice Murphy, for years principal trumpet of the LSO, now in semi-retirement (accent on semi-); Rod Franks, Murphy’s successor in that hot seat; William Houghton, principal trumpet of the BBC Symphony Orchestra; there are top session musicians such as Tony Fisher and Paul Newton, and players who stretch with ease across all musical genres such as Henry Lowther. The distinguished list continues, and it goes without saying that connoisseurs of brass playing will be queuing up for this superbly produced disc.

But, with no disrespect meant to these wonderful performers, the real stars of the collection are the arrangers. Paul Sarcich’s version of the Superman music is a riot – see how many of his sly references you can spot; there are allusions to Also Sprach Zarathustra, Fanfare for the Common Man, Beethoven 9, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, just for starters! The same arranger’s glorious take on The Carnival of Venice plays the same game.

You might naturally expect, when pressing the start button for a disc like this, to be immediately blown out of your seat by the sound of massed trumpets. Which is why the very quiet percussion that begins Tony Rickard’s impressionistic arrangement of Mambo Caliente is so effective. This and the succeeding Dos Gardenias acquire a delightfully slinky Latin feel, while the jazz-rock number Heard it through the grapevine contains some stunning solo work from Patrick White. Indeed the only arrangement I wasn’t quite sure about was Daryl Runswick’s rather over-elaborate version of Amazing Grace (a pity, because I’m a great admirer of Runswick’s work).

If you are trumpeter, this CD is downright compulsory – beg, borrow or buy it, and that’s an order! For all other music-lovers, you really should do so too, because it’s simply a huge treat.

Gwyn Parry-Jones

see also review by Jonathan Woolf


Return to Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.