Program No. 97 - 6th April 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Billy Joel

But Billy Joel doesn't play any brass instruments.

Correct.

This will be the start of a series of programs this year where I look at well known rock and pop artists and feature those tracks that have brass playing.

A couple of years ago on the show I strung out a two hour show featuring Billy Joel, including jazz and brass band arrangements of his songs.  I won't be doing that this time around.  Just straight songs from the man himself.

1.    Easy Money
2.    Tell Her About It
3.    Keeping the Faith
     - An Innocent Man (1983)

4.    Zanzibar
5.    Until The Night
     - 52nd Street (1978)

6.    Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
     - The Stranger (1977)

7.    Big Man On Mulberry Street
8.    River Of Dreams
     - 2000 Years - Millennium Concert

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Hour 2
Michael Giacchino

At the start of the year we looked at the movie scores of Michael Giacchino composed for Pixar Studios, including The Incredibles, Up and Cars II. Tonight we look at some of his other movie scores.  We wont be playing his music from either of the latest Star Trek movies, as we have a Star Trek show coming up.

1.     Knife to A Gun Fight
     - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

2.    Super 8 Suite
     - Super 8 (2011)

3.    Roar!
     - Cloverfield (2008)

4.    John Carter Suite
     - John Carter (2012)

5.    Go Speed, Go!
6.    Casa Cristo
     - Speed Racer (2008)

7.    End Credits Can Suck It!
     - Land of The Lost (2009)

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
2014 Australian National Championships Test Pieces

Over the Easter weekend the Australian National Brass Band Championships will be on again, this time up in sunny Brisbane.

On the show tonight we'll run through the program, and also play a couple of test pieces.

1.    A Malvern Suite (Ebbw Valley Brass)
     - The Nationals 2013

2.    St Magnus (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
     - 2004 European Championships

3.    Forest of Dean (Sun life Band)
     - Bourgeois (1994)

I'm taking a couple of weeks off, and will back with a new show on 27th April.

Have a Happy Easter.

Program No. 96 - 30th March 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Trumpet Magic - A Tribute to Rafael Mendez

For the first time on Brass Monkeys we will be featuring one album.

This album was released in 2006 and is a tribute to the legendary Mexican trumpet player Rafael Méndez.

The trumpet player is the current principal trumpet player of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Payne, and he is more than ably backed by said orchestra, under the direction of Jean-Louis Forrestier.

Sadly we cant play the entire album due to time considerations, but the tracks that we will be playing are:

1.     Hejre Kati
2.     Dance Of The Comedians
3.     Bell Song From Lakme
4.    Habanera from Carmen
5.     Dance Boheme from Carmen
6.     Czardas
7.     Zigeunerweisen
8.     Canto Moro
9.     Plegaria Taurina
10.   Farewell My Grenada
11.   La Virgen De La Macarena

Next week, we will start our series looking at brass playing in popular songs of the last 30 to 40 years. We'll begin with brass used by American singer Billy Joel.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
John Williams and Steven Spielberg in the 1990s
 

 About 6 weeks ago we looked at the collaboration between John Williams and Stephen Spielberg in the 1980's which included the Indiana Jones movies, as well as E.T., Empire Of The Sun and Always.  This week we look the continuation of this partnership in the 1990's.

1.    The Banquet Scene
2.    The Ultimate War
     - Hook (1991)

3.    Journey to The Island
4.    T-Rex Rescue & Finale
     - Jurassic Park (1993)

5.    Main Theme
     - Schindler's List (1993)

6.    The Long Road To Justice
     - Amistad (1997)

7.    Hymn To The Fallen
     - Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Next week, we take another look at the works of Michael Giacchino, as we explore his works away from Pixar.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Philip Wilby (Part II)

Last week we looked at three major works composed by Philip Wilby that incorporated music from composers such as Paganini, Vivaldi and Mozart.  This week we continue through his catalogue of major works for brass band.

1.    Dove Descending (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
     - Kings of Europe (2004)

2.    The New Jerusalem (Tertnes Brass)
     - Norwegian Brass Band Championships (1999)

3.    Jazz (Grimethorpe Colliery Band)
     - From Sonnets to Jazz (1997)

Next week we are going to be looking at some of the test music for the upcoming Australian National Brass Band Championships, to be held in Brisbane over Easter.

Program No. 95 - 16th March 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson was one of the most adaptable trumpet players, being one of the few to readily change with the times during his long career, from the 1940s to the 2000s. Whilst not the first to utilise the upper register, he came to own that territory.  He released well in excess of 50 albums over his lifetime, with seemingly dozens of compilation albums that have been put together after his death.

Tonight's show seeks to only scratch the surface of his works (as a lot of the tracks tonight have been taken from compilation albums, and could have come from one of 5 or 6 different albums, I have left that information off. But we'll be discussing albums on the show).

1.    Gonna Fly (Theme from Rocky)
2.    Birdland
3.    Sesame Street
4.    The Girl from Ipanema
5.    Eleanor Rigby
6.    Star Trek Theme
7.    MacArthur Park

Next week we'll have our feature of a single album, that is Trumpet Magic: A Tribute to Rafael Mendez, performed by Geoffrey Payne on trumpet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Elmer Bernstein

Elmer Bernstein is one of the legends of score composition, having composed for more than 200 movies over his 51 year career. two of his scores (The Magnificent Seven and To Kill a Mockingbird) were listed in the top 20 of the 100 greatest movie scores of all time, compiled in 2005. He was nominated for 17 Academy Awards (and won only one), as well as five Grammy Award nominations.

His first score was for Saturday's Hero in 1951 and his final score was in 2002 for Far Fro Heaven (which was nominated for an Academy Award).

 1.    Main Title
     - The Great Escape (1963)

2.    Sky Hi
     - Thoroughly Modern Mille (1967)

3.    Finale
     - The Black Cauldron (1985)

4.    Main Title
     - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

5.    Main Theme
     - Ghostbusters (1984)

6.    Airplane Suite
     - Airplane (aka Flying High)(1980)

7.    Walk on The Wild Side
     - Walk on The Wild Side (1962)

8.     Suite from The Ten Commandments
     - The Ten Commandments (1956)

9.    The River Crossing
     - Zulu Dawn (1979)

10.   Main Title
     - Wild Wild West (1999)

11.   Main Title
     - The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Next week we revisit the collaboration between Steven Spielberg and John Williams as we look at the 1990s. Think Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Amistad and Hook.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Philip Wilby

Philip Wilby is a British composer, and whilst he composed for a wide variety of instruments it is his brass band music that we will obviously be looking at closely tonight. In particular we will play 3 of his major works for brass band that have been popular over the last decade or so. The three works share a common theme as they relate to, and include theme and variations of works from well known composers.

1.    Paganini Variations (Grimethorpe Colliery Band)
     - Paganini Variations (1999)

2.    Vienna Nights (Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band)
     - European Brass Band Championships 2012

3.    Red Priest (Oslo Brass Band)
     - NM Brass 2012 (Elite Division)

Next week we continue to look at the works of Philip Wilby.

Program No. 94 - 9th March 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Wynton Marsalis

photography: Jost L. Knaepen

Wynton Marsalis is a trumpet player who is equally at home in both jazz and classical music genres. He has been awarded 9 Grammys in both and has also been awarded for a Pulitzer Prize For Music.

Born in New York City in 1961, Wynton is part of a gifted music family that includes his father, Ellis Marsalis Jnr (pianist) and brothers Branford (saxophonist), Delfayo (trombonist) and Jason (drummer).

Wynton Marsalis has been featured as a soloist or jointly with other artists in over 100 albums. This first program on Marsalis' music seeks to only dip into the different genres that he plays. Later in the year we will look at Marsalis's works in a bit more depth.

1.    Tiger Rag (with Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio)
     - In Full Swing (2003) 

2.    Hickory Dickory Dock
     - Winton Marsalis The Majesty of The Blues (1989)

3.    Pachelbel: Canon In D (with English Chamber Orchestra)
     - Baroque Music For Trumpets (1990)

4.    Arban: Fantaisie Brillante (with Eastman Wind Ensemble)
5.    Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar Saltan - The Flight Of The Bumblebee (with Eastman Wind Ensemble)
     - Carnaval (1990)

6.    New Orleans Bump
     - Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord (1999)

7.    Layla (with Eric Clapton)
     - Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues (Live from Jazz At Lincoln Center) (2011)

Next week, another we turn our attention to another trumpet player - Maynard Ferguson.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Miklós Rózsa

Miklós Rózsa was born in Hungary, trained in Germany and lived in England, USA, Italy and France. Whilst he has composed a substantial body of "serious" and concert works, he is best known for his work in cinema, having composed scores for almost 100 movies, including a number of blockbusters in 1940s, 50s and 60s.

He was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and won 3, with Spellbound (1946), A Double Life (1948) and Ben-Hur (1960).

1.    El Cid - Fanfare & Entry Of The Nobles
2.    El Cid March
     - El Cid (1961)

3.    Overture
     - Ben-Hur (1959)

4.    Triumphal March
     - Quo Vadis (1951)

5.    Challenge & Finale
     - Ivanhoe (1952)

6.    King of Kings
     - King of Kings (1961)

7.    Suite from "Sahara"
     - Sahara (1943)

8.   The Thief of Baghdad Suite: I. Overture
     - The Thief of Baghdad (1940)

9.   Tribute to a Bad Man: Suite    
     - Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)

10.  Finale
     -  Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Next week, another composer of legendary status. Elmer Bernstein, with a look at some of his best known movies scores over his 51 year career. with over 200 films and TV shows to choose from, the selection will be difficult. I think Ghost Busters, The Magnificent Seven and To Kill a Mockingbird will feature on the show.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Kenneth Downie

Kenneth Downie has composed over 50 pieces over the last 40 years. Born in Glasgow in 1946, he was started his working life as a musician before going into the jewellery business in 1976.  22 years later he returned to his musical  roots with the acceptance of an invitation by David King to become the first ever composer in residence to the Yorkshire Building Society Band.

His piece St Magnus was recently chosen as the test piece for both the 2014 Australian National Brass Band Championships (A Grade) as well as the 2014 UK Regional Contests (Championship Section). St Magnus will be featured on our show in a few weeks' time.

1.    The Victor (Melbourne Staff Band)
2.    The Joy of Loving Hearts (Melbourne Staff Band)
     - Chronicles (2011)

3.    King Of Heaven (Melbourne Staff Band)
     - Fiesta! (2007)

4.    Dance Fever (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
5.    My Father's World (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
      - Vitae Lux (1999)

6.    Rhapsody on 'The Isle of Mull'  (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
     - Hymn of the Highlands (2002)

7.    The Piper o' Dundee (Sheona White with Yorkshire Building Society Band)
     - The Voice of the Tenor Horn (2000)

8.    Spirit of Celebration (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
     - European Championships 1998

Next week we look at some of the major works of another celebrated composer of brass band music, Philip Wilby.

Program No. 93 - 2nd March 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Nils Landgren

Last week we introduced the versatility if Swedish trombonist, Nils Landgren, through recordings of the Nils Landgren Funk Unit. But Nils enjoys performing in a variety of genres, not just funk. Tonight, we look at some of his other recordings, as a a soloist as well as collaborating with others.

1.    Love The One You're With (with Joe Sample)
2.    Get Out Of My Life Woman (with Joe Sample)
     - Creole Love Call (2005)

3.    Sentimental Journey
4.    I Will Survive
     - Sentimental Journey (2002)

5.    Backpolska (with Jonas Knutsson)
     - New Eyes on Baroque (2013)

6.   Den Blomstertid Nu Kommer (The Flowerseason Is Coming)
     - Gotland (1996)

7.   Eleanor Rigby (with Johan Norberg)
8.   Stomp (with Johan Norberg)
     - Chapter 2 (1989)

9.    Norwegian Fox Trot (with Esbjörn Svensson)
10.   The Farewell (Esbjörn Svensson)
     - Layers of Light (2001)

11.   Red Horn
     - The First Unit (2001)

February almost seemed like the month of trombone music, with both Nils and Wycliffe Gordon previously. We'll move back to the trumpet next week, with a versatile American who plays in a variety of genres, and a member of a very talented musical family, Wynton Marsalis.


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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Video Games Music by Score Composers

Having two boys interested in all the latest offerings from X Box (and getting involved in some of the games myself), you can't help but notice the significant production values of some of these games. An no wonder, as video games is big business, with some games achieving greater sales than most movies released. Grand Theft Auto V, released last year, grossed over $1 billion in sales in its first 3 days.

Given that the purpose of music in these video games is the same as for movies (to enhance the emotional journey of the participant), the producers of these block buster games bring on some of the best composers to write music for them.

Tonight we will feature 5 composers that have successfully composed for both movies and for video games.

Hans Zimmer (with Lorne Balfe)
1.    Opening Titles
2.    Deadline
     - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Brian Tyler
3.    Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Main Theme
4.    The High Seas
5.    Men of War
6.    Batten Down The Hatches
     - Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)

7.    Need For Speed: The Run
8.    That Is Impossible
     - Need For Speed: The Run (2011)

9.    Far Cry 3
    - Far Cry 3 (2012)


Michael Giacchino
10.   Operation Market Garden
     - Medal of Honor: Frontline (2002)

11.   MoH: Allied Assault (Main Theme)
     -   Medal of Honor: Vanguard (2007)

Ramon Djawadi
12.   Heroes Aboard
     - Medal of Honor (2010)

I think there is still a lot of area to explore with this particular genre, but we'll let it go for the moment.

Coming up next week, we're going back in time to feature some of the works of one of the legendary score composers of the 1930s - 1980's, Miklós Rózsa.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Classical and Operatic Overtures (Part II)

As mentioned last week, when researching music for last week's show about Classical and Operatic Overtures arranged for brass bands, I found music to cover at least two shows.  So here is Part II.

1.    Festival Overture (CWS Glasgow Band)
     - European Championships (1998)

2.    Nabucco Overture (Fodens Courtois Band)
     - Centenary Brass (1999)

3.    Academic Festival Overture (Black Dyke Band)
     - Symphonic Brass (2007)

4.    Overture - Le Corsair (Leyland Band)
     - Master Brass Vol 14 – 2003 All England Masters Champions

5.    The Bartered Bride - Overture (The Black Dyke Mills Band)
     - Slavonic Brass (1992)

6.    Henry V Overture (Fairey FP (Music) Band)
     - Enigma (2004)

Next week we look at works by composer Kenneth Downie.

Program No. 92 - 23rd February 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Nils Landgren Funk Unit

Nils Landgren is a Swedish R&B funk and jazz trombone player. He began playing drums at the age of six, before at last discovering the trombone at 13.

By his own reckoning he has been on more than 500 albums, as a soloist, as part of Nils Landgren Funk Unit, or as a sessional player. He has performed with people and groups as diverse as ABBA, Ray Parker Jnr., Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Eddie Harris and Maceo Parker.

Landgren tours regularly. In the next few months you can see him perform in Sweden, Germany, France and Switzerland.

Tonight's show will feature his group Nils Landgren Funk Unit.

1.    Walk Tall
2.    You Dig
3.    Cannonball
     - Paint It Blue (1996)

4.    Slowfoot
5.    Brazos River Breakdown
6.    Freak U
     - Licence to Funk (2007)

6.    Money, Money, Money
7.    Super Trouper
8.    Dancing Queen
     - Funky ABBA ( 2004)

Next week will feature some of Nils Landgren's solo works.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Alexandre Desplat

Possibly one of the most underrated movie score composers around at the moment, Desplat is a prolific composer, in both Hollywood as well as in his native country, France.  He has been nominated for 6 Academy Awards, 6 Golden Globe Awards (won one), 6 BAFTA Awards (won one), 7 Cesar Awards (won three) and 5 Grammy Awards (won one).

Tonight's program simply serves as an introduction to his vast body of work. Expect a few more programs featuring this composer in the future.

1.    Mr Fox In the Fields Medley
2.    Finale
     - Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)

3.    Sky Battle
4.    Fireplaces Escape
5.    Destroying the Locket
     - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (2010)

6.    Opening Titles
7.    Heilbronn Mine
     - The Monuments Men (2014)

8.    Main Title
9.    Finale
     - Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)

10.   Philomena
11.   Confession
     - Philomena (2013)

12.   Calling the Guardians
13.   Oath of the Guardians
     - Rise of the Guardians (2012)

14.   Battle With the Tartars
15.   Ice Bear Combat
     - The Golden Compass (2007)

Next week we look at video game music and uncover those written by well known movie score composers.  You may be surprised as to who will feature on the show.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Classical and Operatic Overtures

A lot of well known music in the classical genre has been transposed for brass bands over the years.  Tonight's program looks at the Overture, both in symphonic and operatic form as the length of these works can sometimes fit well as either major works or entertainment items for brass bands.

1.    Russlan And Ludmilla - Overture (Fodens Band)
     - Brass in Concert (2001)

2.    The Hebrides Overture - Fingal's Cave (Black Dyke Band)
     - Essential Dyke Volume 7 (2007)

3.    La Forza del Destino Overture (Soli Brass)
     - WMC 2001 Brass Band CD 2 (2001)

4.    William Tell - Overture (Grimethorpe Colliery Band)
     - Classic Brass (1989)

5.    Overture - The Marriage of Figaro (Black Dyke Mills Band)
     - European Championships (1991)

6.   1812 Overture (BAYV Cory Band)
     - European Championships (2003)

I found more than enough music here for a couple of programs. Next week, we'll continue with this theme.

Program No. 91 - 16th February 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Wycliffe Gordon

In my opinion Wycliffe Gordon is one of the most versatile and influential jazz trombone (as well as trumpet, tuba, piano, didgeridoo, strings) players (he also sings) around in the USA at the moment. He is no stranger to our shores, having been a guest of the Melbourne International Festival of Brass on at least two occasions.

1.    It's All Right With Me (with John Allred)
2.    The Preacher (with John Allred)
     - Head to Head (2002)

3.    The Battle Hymn Of The Republic
     - The Gospel Truth (2000)

4.    When The Saints Go Marching In
     - In The Cross (2004)

5.    Great Big Wall (Emily Asher)
     - Dreams May Take You (2012)

6.    Sweet Georgia Brown
     - The Search (2000)

7.    Georgie On My Mind
     - Standards Only(2006)

8.    Undecided (with Marty Erickson)
     - You and I (2008)

9.    Brass Glory (Kenny Carr)
     - Sound The Alarm (2004)

Next week, we stay with trombones as we feature Swedish funk and jazz player, Nils Landgren.


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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
John Williams and Steven Spielberg in the 1980s

John Williams has been working with Steven Spielberg since The Sugarland Express in 1974.  There has been so much great music composed as part of this collaboration, that I have chosen to start off with looking at their joint projects in the 1980's. During this time there were 6 movies that Williams scored for Spielberg, including the one of the best action trilogies of all time, a score featuring in the top 10 scores of all time, as well as a relatively unknown one.

1.    Bicycle Chase
     - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)

2.    Follow Me/ Dorinda's Sol Flight
     - Always (1989)

3.    Toy Planes, Home and Hearth
4.    Exsultate Justi
     - Empire of The Sun (1987)

5.    Desert Chase
6.    The Miracle of the Ark
     - Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981)

7.    Anything Goes
8.    Slave Children's Crusade
     - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

9.    Finale & End Credits 
     - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Next week we play music from French composer Alexandre Desplat.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Goff Richards

There wouldn't be many brass bands in the world that don't have a work or two by British composer Goff Richards in their repertoire. Although he passed away in 2011 his original compositions and arrangements of well known tunes will endure.

1.    Fanfare for a New Age (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)

2.    Pops For Brass (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)

     - The Best of Goff Richards (2005)

3.    Barnard Castle ( Lyngby-Taarbæk Brass Band)

     - Decade of Brass (1999)

4.    James Bond Medley (Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band)

     -  Movie Brass (2001)

5.    Doyen (Halifax Concert Band)

     - Halifax Concert Band (2008)

6.    Oceans (Desford Colliery Band)

7.    Russky Percussky (Desford Colliery Band)

    - Making Tracks (1990)

8.    Zorba's Dance (Buy As You View Cory Band)

     - The Glory of Cory (2002)

Next week, we are going to look at some well known orchestral overtures, arranged from brass bands.

Program No. 90 - 9th February 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Oxo Cubans

It's a little bit difficult to pigeon hole this five piece group that originated from Melbourne. i-Tunes has categorised them as Jazz, but that's not right. I like this quote from Drum Media:

"Are they acappella? A brass quartet? Jazz? Cabaret? Pop? All of the above, and more..."

Their line up has changed a couple of times over the years, but features trombone, tuba, saxophone and percussion. They can all sing as well. I won;t embarrass myself to try and name all the players, and I am unable to find a definitive line up online. I'm featuring music from three of their CDs tonight:

1.    Doona Hog
2.    Future Generations
3.    Letter L
4.    Tim Tam Slam
5.    Tom
     - More (2005)

6.    Grey Matter
7.    Town Takes Cover
8.    One For Me  
     - Just Like This (2005)

9.    Take The Time
10.   Top O My Toungue
11.   Ship Comes In
12.   It's Falling Out
13.   Truth Comes Out
14.   Roofrack
15.   2 and a Dog
    - Take The Time (2007)

 * Note the year of lease information comes from i-Tunes. I am pretty sure these are not actually correct.

Next week we play music from American Jazz Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
2014 Oscar Contenders

You may notice as we play through tonight's music that none of the nominated scores in this year's Academy Awards featured on my earlier show, where I played movie scores I thought highly of.  It appears as though the music nominated is generally low key and laid back, rather than the large bombastic movie scores normally associated with Hans Zimmer, (mostly) John Williams et al.

In researching for the show tonight I was unable to find a release of the soundtrack for the movie Her. I did, however, find one song.

For your consideration:

1.    Above Earth
2.    The Void
     - Gravity (Steven Price)

3.    Philomena
4.    Confession
     - Philomena (Alexandre Desplat)

5.   The Moon Song
     - Her

6.    Travers Goff
7.    A Foul Fowl
8.    To My Mother
9.    End Titles
     - Saving Mr Banks (Thomas Newman)

10.   The Book Thief
11.    Revealing The Secret
     - The Book thief (John Williams)

Next week, we are going to look at the collaboration between Steven Spielberg and John Williams and specifically during the 1980s.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Black Saturday

Last Friday marked the firth Anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. As someone who lives and works in one the areas most devastated by the fires, this date is particularly significant to me.

Back in 2012, in only my third show, I presented a 2 hour special program on the third Anniversary of Black Saturday.  Tonight's show will be a slightly cut down version of that show.

We begin with a piece composed by John Pickard called Wildfire, that now forms part of a much larger work entitled Gaia Symphony. It is being performed by The Cory Band, from their 2002 album Wildfire.

The recordings for the rest of the program tonight were provided to me from the composer of the pieces, Mr Barry McKimm. Barry is a trumpet player formerly with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra who has also produced a number of works for brass band.

The first piece was actually commissioned by Footscray-Yarraville City Band in 1983, after the Ash Wednesday fires, and was performed by the band at, what is now know as, The Hamer Hall in 1984. Barry was kind enough to provide me with a number of recordings of this work. I have chosen for tonight the Wanganui City Silver Band performance.

The final piece is titled Lamentations and was commissioned by National Australia Brass in 2011. The piece massive in scale, running at a bit under an hour. It is based on this written work, Kinglake Undone, by Jordie Albiston.

For the 2012 show I played the piece in its entirety. For tonight's show I will play only the second and fourth movements of this five movement piece. This recording was from the performance by National Australia Brass in New South Wales in 2011.

Next week, we feature the music of composer Goff Richards.

UPDATE:
The fire activity today in Victoria has been described as the worse since Black Saturday. As I type this now, there are Emergency alerts right throughout the State, including many areas close to home.

Out of respect for thoseaffected by today's fire activity this part of the show will now be postponed until a later date. I am busy trying to put together a new program. Tune in at 9:00 to hear what it will be.

Program No. 89 - 2nd February 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
Vince Jones

Photo courtesy of Fairfax

I first became a fan of Vince Jones in the late 1980's thanks to a couple of friends of mine. This Australian singer, trumpet/flugel player, composer was probably at the height of his career at that stage. With a number of great CDs having been released, he and James Morrison would have been the two highest profile Australian brass players (of any genre) at that time.

Jones still performs regularly, as his website indicates, and also teaches part time at the Australian National University, according to Wikipedia.

1.   Watch What Happens
2.   When I Fall In Love
     - Watch What Happens (1982)

3.   On The Brink Of It
4.   Boys On The Corner
     - On The Brink Of It (1985)

5.   If You're Goin To The City
6.   Jettison
     - It All Ends Up In Tears (1987)

7.   You Go To My Head
8.   Mood Indigo
     - Come In Spinner (1990)

9.   Big City
10. Trustworthy Little Sweethearts
11.  My Only Friend  
     - Trustworthy Little Sweethearts (1988)

Next week we stay local, but change genres, as we feature the 5 man combo Oxo Cubans.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Ramin Djawadi

Djawadi is an Iranian born, German composer who was brought to the attention of acclaimed score composer Hans Zimmer shortly after Djawadi graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1998.  Since that time Djawadi has composed music for movies, TV series and video games. We'll be sampling music from each of these sub genres tonight.


1.    Driving With The Top Down
2.    Iron Man
3.    Arc Reaktor
     - Iron Man (2008)

4.    Main Title
5.    The King's Arrival
6.    Finale
     - Game of Thrones - First Season (2011)

7.    Heroes Abroad
     - Medal of Honor - EA Games (2010)

8.    You Can't Hide From Hades
9.    Release The Kraken
10.  Scorpiox
     - Clash Of The Titans (2010)

11.  2500 Tons Of Awesome
12.  Cancelling the Apocalypse
13.  Pacific Rim (featuring Tom Morello)
     - Pacific Rim (2013)

Next week we be looking at all the film scores that have been nominated for an Academy Award at this year's event.

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Brett Baker

Brett Baker is a world renowned trombone player known mainly, but not exclusively for his work in and around the brass band world. Whilst based in England, Brett has been to Australia often, and has been known to play with local bands during national contests.

Baker has released, or been featured as a soloist, in dozens of CDs since the mid 1990's. Tonight's program list barely scratches the surface .

1.   Brasilia
2.   Cavatine, Op. 144
3.   Wind Beneath My Wings
     - Bone Idyll (1996)

4.   Atlantic Zephyrs
     - Soloist Showcase (2012)

5.   Sarah
     - Boscombe & Foden's LIVE (2008)

6.   Tango
     - Rathamataz (2009)

7.   Something
     - Black Dyke Plays Beatles (2012)

8.   Radio City       
      I. City Noir
      II. Cafe Rouge
      III. Two Minute Mile
     - Electra (2013)
  
Next week we will revisit a topic I featured back in 2011. The 5th Anniversary of the Black Saturday Bushfires is the Friday 7th February, and we will feature 3 works written about bushfires. This will include Barry McKimm's Ash Wednesday as well as parts of Lamentations, written about Black Saturday.

Program No. 88 - 26th January 2014

Happy Australia Day everyone.

Tonight's show will be a celebration of Australian music, in brass, in cinema and on radio.

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)

1.    Beds are Burning (Midnight Oil)
      - Scream In Blue (1992)

2.    Forgotten Years (Midnight Oil)
      - Blue Sky Mining (1989)

3.    ABC News Theme
      - Remixed by Pendulum (2010)

4.    Back In Black (Trombone Shorty)
      - Trombone Shorty - Live At Jazz Fest (2007)

5.    Holy Grail (Hunters & Collectors)
      -  Living In Large Rooms and Lounges (1995)

6.    Do You See What I See (Hunters & Collectors)
      - Collected Works (1986)

7.    Eagle Rock 1908 (Ross Wilson)
      - Tributary (2008)

8.    Land Down Under (Ophil)
      - Ophil Live (2005)

9.    Still Young  (The Cat Empire)
10.  Go (The Cat Empire)      -  Steal The Light (2013)

11.  Sydney By Night (James Morrison)
      -  Postcards from Down Under (1988)

Next week, we play music from Australian trumpeter and singer, Vince Jones.

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)

We are featuring music from two iconic Australian movies. The first was released back in 1982 with music composed by Bruce Rowland - The Man From Snowy River. The second movie was released in 2008 with music composed largely by David Hirschfelder - Australia.

1.    Main Titles
2.    Mountain Theme
3.    Jessica's Theme
4.    The Chase
5.    Jim's Ride
6.    Jim Brings In The Brumbies
7.    Closing Titles
     - The Man from Snowy River

8.    Welcome to Australia (Overture)
9.    No Man Hires Me, No Man Fires Me
10.  The Rush
11.  Across the Room / Begin the Beguine
12.  Faraway Downs
13.  Fire from the Sky
14.  Nimrod (From the Enigma Variations)
15.  Waltzing Matilda
     - Australia

Next week we play music from Ramon Djawadi.
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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)

 1.   The Australasian (Grimethorpe Colliery Band)
     - Grimethorpe in Concert (2002)

2.    An Australian Fantasy (Sellers Engineering Band)
     - The World of Brass (1992)

3.    Endeavour (Yorkshire Imperial Band)
     - Endeavour (2002)

4.    At The Going Down Of The Sun (Kew Band Melbourne)
     - 'Neath Austral Skies

5.    Terra Australis (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)
     - The Nationals 2010

6.     Waltzing Matilda (Melbourne Staff Band)
     - Celebration Of Faithfulness (2007)

7.    Advance Australia Fair (Australian National Band & David Stanhope)
    - Advance Australia Fair: The Australian National Anthem (2005)

On next week's show, we feature trombone player Brett Baker.

Program No. 87 - 12th January 2014

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
James Morrison - Live Albums

Of the 26 albums Wikipedia show that James Morrison has released, the live albums are only a small minority. This show will feature those albums that I have managed to track down on that list (plus another one not on that list).

1.   The Flintstones Theme
    - James Morrison At The Winery (1984)

2.   The Opener
3.   Mack The Knife
    - Live At The Sydney Opera House (1996)

4.   Light Walk (with Melbourne Staff Band)
    - Fiesta (2007)

5.   Holy Holy Holy (with Edge Church International)
6.   Were You There / How Great Thou Art (with Edge Church International)
    - James Morrison Live At Edge (2012)

7.   Blues For Judy
    -  Swiss Encounter: Live at the Montreaux Jazz Festival (1989)

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
The Best of 2013

I thought 2013 was a good year for movie soundtracks. Given my leaning towards blockbuster and action movies I thought that in pretty much all cases the music scored did the movies justice. All the top composers had been busy during the year with Zimmer, Elfman, Shore, Newton Howard, Djawadi, Giaccino and Tyler featuring high on the list of my best scores for 2013.

I have limited my choice to movies I actually saw in 2013 (Unfortunately John Williams doesn't get a look in this year, because of this restriction).

1.   Marvel Studios Fanfare (Brian Taylor)
2.   Thor: The Dark World (Brian Taylor)
    - Thor: Dark World

3.   Un Monumneto (Ennio Morricone)
    - Django Unchained

4.   Star Trek Main Theme (Michael Giacchino)
    - Star Trek Into Darkness

5.   Pacific Rim (Ramin Djawadi and Tom Morello)
    - Pacific Rim

6.   Horn of Plenty (James Newton Howard)
    -  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

7.   Love Is The Drug (Bryan Ferry & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra)
    - The Great Gatsby

8.   Look To The Stars (Hans Zimmer)
    - Man Of Steel

9.   The Main Titles (Danny Elfman)
10.  The Munchkin Welcome Song (Danny Elfman)
    - Oz the Great and Powerful

11.  Epic Final Confrontation (Danny Elfman)
    - Epic

12.  The Forest River (Howard Shore)
    - The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug

13.  Can You Dig It (Brian Tyler)
    - Iron Man 3

14.  Finale (Hans Zimmer)
    - The Lone Ranger

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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Cory Band

2013 saw Cory Band again dominate the contesting scene, winning,National Championships of Great Britain, Brass In Concert Championships and European Championships. They also toured Australia, as well as released Words and Music (judged by Brass Band World as the best brass band CD of 2013). Here is a selection of their performances during the year.

1.   Fanfare and Celebration 
     - Perihelion: Closer to the Sun - The Brass Band Music of Philip Sparke

2.   King's Messenger
    - Words and Music

3.   Los Hermanos de Bop
4.   La Fiesta
5.   My Way (with Dave Mitchell)
    - The Nationals 2013

6.   Perihelion
    - European Brass Band Championships


The show will be having a sort break next week, so join us back on 26th January for a special Australia Day edition of Brass Monkeys

Program No. 86 - 5th January 2014

Welcome to the first show in the new format.

Hour 1 (Jazz and Contemporary Brass)
The Cat Empire

They spent a lot of 2013 touring the world, after the release of their latest CD, Steal The Light.  This Australian group has a unique sound, full of brass, and is one of my favourite groups at the moment. The show tonight borrows from a show I programmed back in May last year, in celebration of the release of Steal The Light.

1.   Jungle
2.   Anymore
3.   Side to Side
4.   Know Your Name
    - Cities (2006)

5.   Sunny Moon
6.   No Mountain
7.   Radio Song
8.   No Longer There
    - So Many Nights (2007)

9.   Brighter Than Gold
10.  Wild Animals
11.  Prophets In The Sky
12.  Don't Throw Your Hands Up
13.  All Night Loud
    - Steal The Light (2013)

Next week - music from some of the live albums of Australian Jazz Legend, James Morrison

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Hour 2 (Movie Scores)
Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino has a vast body of work for a variety of screen media, including television (best known for Alias and Lost), movies (including the latest 2 Star Trek movies) as well as for computer games (such as Medal of Honour and Call of Duty.  Tonight's show will feature his movies scores, and specifically the four movie scores that he has composed for Pixar Animation.

1.   End Creditouilles 
    - Ratatouille (2008)

2.   Seizing the Spirit of Adventure
3.   Up With End Credits
    - Up (2009)

4.   It's Finn McMissile!
5.   Porto Corsa
6.   Mater's The Bomb
    - Cars 2 (2011)

7.   Kronos Unveiled
8.  The Incredits
    - The Incredibles (2004)

Next week - a review of the best movie scores of 2013.


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Hour 3 (Brass Bands and Ensembles)
Paul Lovatt-Cooper

We featured works from acclaimed composer Paul Lovatt-Cooper in 2013. Tonight's show is a reworking of last year's program with a couple of extra added.

1.   When Thunder Calls
    - Black Dyke Band (European Brass Band Championships 2013)

2.   Where Eagles Sing
    - Black Dyke Band (Essential Dyke, Volume 7 - 2007)

3.   Within Blue Empires
    - Brass Band Oberosterreich (European Brass Band Championships 2012)

4.   Donegal Bay (with baritone soloist Gareth Brindle)
    - Fairey FP (Music) Band (Virtuosi! - 2003)

5.   Song for the Skies (with tuba soloist Joseph Cook)
6.   Rondo alla Turca (with xylophone soloist Paul Lovatt-Cooper)
7.   Enchanted Kingdom
    - Black Dyke Band (Only For You - The Music of Paul Lovatt-Cooper Volume II - 2011)

Next week - music from the top brass band of 2013, The Cory Band.

Program No. 85 - Month of Christmas Music (The Big One)

Tonight is the culmination of our month of Christmas Music as we present a three hour Extravaganza of Christmas music across a whole range of brass genres, from brass bands and ensembles, to some fantastic solo work, jazz, big band, soul and crossover music.

Here is the play list, in order:

1. Greensleeves (What Child Is This?)
    - Boston Brass and the Brass All-Stars Big Band (Stan Kenton Christmas Album -2006)

2. A Traditional Christmas
   - 13 Etoiles (Santa Claus is Coming to Town)

3. A Christmas Fantasia
   - Virtuosi GUS Band (Christmas Fantasia - 2012)

4. Carol of the Bells
   - Intrada Brass of Oakville (That Holiday Feeling - 2008)

5. Three Kings' Swing
   - Swiss Army Brass Band - Andreas Spörri (Best Of Swiss Army Brass Band - 2006)

6. Silent Night
  - Yorkshire Building Society Band with Trombone Chris Jeans (Simple Gifts - 2003)

7. Do They Know It's Christmas?
   - Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band & Major Peter Parkes (White Christmas With Grimethorpe - 1997)

8. Do You Hear What I Hear?
9. O Magnum Mysterium
   - Tower Brass of Chicago (A Christmas Celebration - 2000)

10. Gaudete Christus Natus Est
11. Coventry Carol
   - Fine Arts Brass Ensemble (Brass Christmas - 1997)

12. O Come All Ye Faithful
   - London Brass (Christmas With London Brass - 1990)

13. White Christmas
   - Carl Lenthe, Joseph Alessi, M. Dee Stewert & Mark Lawrence (Trombones Under the Tree - 1991)

14. Snofnugg (Snowflakes)
15. O Holy Night
   - Oystein Baadsvik; Torodd Wigum: Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Cantus Chamber Choir (Snowflakes - A Classical Christmas - 2011)

16. O Little Town of Bethlehem
   - Chris Botti (December - 2002)

17.  O Christmas Tree
   - Wynton Marsalis (Christmas Jazz Jam - 2009)

18. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
19. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)
   - The After Hours Brass (Music & Mistletoe - 2012)

20. Good King Wencelas
21. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
   - Glenn Miller Orchestra (In The Christmas Mood II - 1993)

22. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
23. Away In A Manger
   - James Morrison Big Band (This Is Christmas - 1993)

24. The Twelve Days of Christmas
    - Boston Brass and the Brass All-Stars Big Band (Stan Kenton Christmas Album -2006)

25. Christmas In Heaven
   - Monty Python (Monty Python Sings - 1989)

26. Another Christmas Song
   - Stephen Colbert (A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! - 2008)

27. Stop The Cavalry
   - Jona Lewie (The All Time Greatest Christmas Songs - 1981)

28. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
29. Frosty the Snowman (feat. The Puppini Sisters)
   - Michael Bublé (December - 2012)

30. (It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus
   - Harry Connick, Jr. (When My Heart Finds Christmas - 1993)

31. Silver Bells
   - Harry Connick, Jr. (Harry For the Holidays - 2003)

32. We Three Kings
   - Harry Connick, Jr. (What a Night! A Christmas Album - 2008)

33. Joy to the World
34. Jingle Bells
   - The Tom Kubis Big Band (A Jazz Musician's Christmas - 2002)

35. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
36. Deck the Halls
   - Mannheim Steamroller (Christmas Symphony - 2012)

37. Hallelujah!
   - Quincy Jones, Mervyn Waren, Michael O. Jackson, Various Artists (Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration -1992)

It's a big one. Lots of great music. I hope you enjoy it.

Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope you have a happy, safe and meaningful New Year in 2014.

I am looking forward to having a week off, but will be back in the new year - in a new format, bigger and better.

I look forward to your company then.

Program No. 82 - Month of Christmas Music (Brass Bands and Ensembles)

My family is very big on Christmas music. So much so that December is declared the month of Christmas music. I have carried this through to Brass Monkeys, and just like last year, the next four shows will be dedicated to Christmas music.

In this, the first week, we will focus on Christmas music performed by Brass bands and Brass ensembles.

The list of pieces are not in playing order:

1. Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah 
     - Black Dyke Mills Band (Best of Brass - 1997)

2. Carol of the Bells
3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
4. We Three Kings of Brubeck Are
5. Little Drummer Boy
     - Boston Brass (Christmas Bells are Swinging - 2005)

6. Happy Christmas (War is Over)
     - Brass Band De Wâldsang & Rieks van der Velde (A Touch of Christmas Classics - 2011)

7. Here We Come A-Wassailing
8. I Saw Three Ships
     - Canadian Brass (A Canadian Brass Christmas - 1985)

9. Christmas Medley: White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
10. Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio BWV: 248
     - Fine Arts Brass Ensemble (Brass Christmas - 1997)

11. Do They Know It's Christmas?
     - Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band & Major Peter Parkes (White Christmas With Grimethorpe - 1997)

12. O Come All Ye Faithful
13. Ding Dong Merrily on High
14. Away in a Manger
     - London Brass (Christmas With London Brass - 1990)

15. Suite of Mediaeval Carols
16. Wassail Song
     - Solid Brass (Christmas With Solid Brass - 1988)

17. Stop The Cavalry
     - Thoresby RJB Band (Schneewalzer - 2000)

18. Joy to the World
19. O Magnum Mysterium
20. What Child is This?
21 The First Noel
22. Angels We Have Heard on High
23. O Holy Night
24. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
25. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
     - Tower Brass of Chicago (A Christmas Celebration - 2000)

26. Silver Bells 
      - True North Brass (A True North Christmas - 1998)

27. Gaudete
28. Silent Night
29. Frosty the Snowman
30. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
     - Yorkshire Building Society Band (Simple Gifts - 2003)

Next week's show will be starting an hour later than normal, at 8:00pm, due to the broadcast from the station of the Kinglake Ranges Carols by Candlelight.

Next week we will be focusing on Brass Soloists, such as Chris Botti, Oystein Baadsvik and James Morrison, amongst others, as they bring their own flavour to Christmas Classics.

Program No. 78 - 2013 European Brass Band Championships

Last week we played music from the 2012 European Brass Band Championships. Tonight we look at this year's Championships, held in Oslo, Norway on 3rd May 2013.

Of the 11 bands that played at the 2012 Championships, 6 bands - Cory Band (Wales), Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag (Norway), Brass Band Schoonhoven (Netherlands), Black Dyke Band (England), Brass Band Oberosterreich (Austria) and Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band (Denmark) have returned in 2013.

They have been joined by Brass Band Buizingen (Belgium), Windcorp Brass Band (Sweden), Brass Band Fribourg (Switzerland), Paris Brass Band (France) and Leyland Band (England).

The contest was won by Cory Band on countback (Cory scored more point in the Test Piece) after it and Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag both scored 191 in aggregate. Black Dyke Band came third on 186.

As per last week, all recordings on tonight's show have come from the officially released CDs of the event.

1. When Thunder Calls (Black Dyke Band)
We will be opening and closing the show tonight with music from the Gala Concert, held as a finale to the Championships. This first number is composed by Paul Lovatt-Cooper and performed by Black Dyke Band, with Robert Childs as conductor.

2. Myth Forest (Cory Band)
Myth Forest is composed by Norwegian composer Stig Nordhagen and is about a pond near the composer's home, called Hestefallstjonn. The work is split into various sections:

1. Sunburst: The sun rises and rays of light shatter the morning mist
2. Bugs and Birds: Insects, small and large, come to life; birds are seeking water
3. Black Water Abyss: The black and abysmal water holds many secrets
4. Water Lilies: Water lilies are rising from the murky water, stretching for light
5. Echo from the Other Side: The echo does not always send back the answer you want
6. The Creatures of the Forest are Dancing Into the Night

Cory's performance was the winning one of the Championships. They are conducted by Philip Harper.

3. Extreme Makeover (Brass Band Oberosterreich)
This major work was composed by Johan de Meij in 2004. It has been used a Test Piece in the 2005 European Band Championships, as well as the 2010 Australian National Band Championships in Hobart. The work is based on Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 - the second movement.

The performance by Brass Band Oberosterreich - with Hans Gansch as conductor, earned the band 89 points, which was ninth in the Own Choice Section.

4. Fragile Oasis (Leyland Band)
This work was commissioned by Leyland Band specifically for this Championships, and was composed by Peter Meechan. The work is based on observations from the International Space Station by American astronaut Ron Garan.

Michael Bach conducted Leyland Band. This performance was scored at 93, or fifth in the Own Choice Section.

5.  When Worlds Collide  (Brass Band Buizingen)
 The work was composed by Nigel Clarke and is a homage to the bizarre 1950s sci-fi B Grade movies. Reading from a 4barsrest review, the work has an alternate title - Little Green Men in Intergalactic Spaceships with Rayguns and Phasers.

Brass Band Buizingen was conducted by Luc Vertommen. This performance received a score of 95, making it third in the Own Choice Section.

6. Spiriti (Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag)
The publisher describes this work as follows:

A Bach chorale stands at the centre of this work (Für deinen Thron tret´ ich hiermit).
Anton Bruckner was one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s great admirers. His work is full of the spirit of that musical genius. For Thomas Doss, it was Bruckner’s spirit that always seemed to be with him while working on Spiriti. Bruckner’s spirit is captured in this composition by a quote from the chorale of his Fifth Symphony at the end of the piece.

The introduction, written in the style of a funeral march, already displays the first fragments of the chorale. Like splinters they are strewn throughout the first Allegro, combining and recombining in turbulent, powerful tutti passages. As the music becomes more rambunctious, the Bach-like fragments begin to swirl around each other, only to be scattered once more.

The middle-section is of a more pensive nature. The Religioso character gives the audience time to reflect. The music is meditative and the quarter-note (or crotchet) elements mimic a soul that is yearning and crying out.

The third part of the piece finally leads, by way of minimalist elements and the fragments mentioned earlier, to a magnificent presentation of the Bach chorale. As the church bells ring out, one can almost hear the great masters presiding at the organ.

Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag was conducted by Australian David King, and this performance earned the band first place in the Own Choice Section.

7. Finale from Symphony No. 3 - Organ (Massed Bands)
We close tonight's program with a massed bands performance of this famous work by Saint-Saens, and arranged by Willby.  It was performed at the Gala Concert and conducted by Dr Nicholas Childs.

I hope you enjoyed our two part program on the 2012 and 2013 European Brass Band Championships.

We'll be looking at something completely different next week, as in honour of the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5th November, we feature movie music about horses and horse racing.

See you then.

Program No. 77 - 2012 European Brass Band Championships

The first European Brass Band Championships were held in the Royal Albert Hall, in London, in 1978. In the early years it lacked a sense of legitimacy and gravitas, and it wasn't until 1983, where the Championships left London to be hosted by various cities around continental Europe, did it develop into the premier contest that it now is.

Bands from UK have tended to dominate the Championships title over the years,  with Cory Band winning 5 times, Black Dyke 12 times, and Yorkshire Building Society Band 8 times, over its 37 year history.

The contest consists of two major works, a set test piece and an own choice. The points awarded are out of a maximum of 100 per work and the winner is decided on aggregate.

The 2012 Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where 11 bands competed. The winning band was Black Dyke, under the baton of Dr Nicholas Childs.A full list of the results can be found here.

All recordings played on the show tonight have come from the official recordings of the championships.

1. Vita Aeterna Variations (Black Dyke Band)
We start the show with the test piece for the championships. Vita Aeterna Variations, composed by Alexander Comitas.  This piece was commissioned by the European Brass Band Association especially for the Championships. The title is in Latin and its English translation is "Eternal Life". It's structured as a Theme and Variations and runs for about 19 minutes.

Black Dyke came first in the Test Piece, with a score of 98.

2.  Within Blue Empires (Brass Band Oberosterreich)
Brass Band Oberosterreich, conducted by Hannes Buchegger,  play this wonderful test piece by Paul-Lovatt-Cooper. The Blue Empires is a reference to oceans, as essentially this is music about whales, including recordings of whales midway through the piece. It is interesting to note that this piece was judged last in the Own Choice section, with a score of 88, indicating the quality of the bands participating at this level.

3. Vienna Nights (Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band)
Philip Wilby pieces were popular as Own Choice works, with Revelation, Masquerade and Vienna Nights played. I have chosen Vienna Nights, a take on the works of Mozart. This piece was used as the Test Piece in the 2011 Australian Brass Band Championships in Adelaide.

The Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band is conducted by Selmer Simonsen. The points awarded to this performance was 89.

4. 31342 Feet (Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan)
This work was composed by Ludovic Neurohr and was written for this band for the Swiss National Championships in 2011. I cannot definitely work out what the title actually refers to, and the only additional information I can find is that the piece is "Willy Wonker inspired".

The Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan was under the baton of Jean-Francois Bobillier, and received 95 points for their performance.

5. Audivi Media Nocte (Brass Band Schoonhoven)
This piece, by Oliver Waespi, was played by two bands at the Championships. Whilst critics seem divided about which band played this better, the judged awarded Brass Band Schoonhoven 99 points, to win the Own Choice section.

This piece was originally commissioned for the Swiss Brass Band Association for the 2011 European Brass Band Championships.

Google Translate has translated the title to mean I Heard at Midnight, and the piece was originally inspired by a motet by 16th Century composer Thomas Tallis sung primarily on All Saints Day.

Erik Janssen conducted Brass Band Schoonhoven.  The near perfect score it received for this work could only get it to third place, after scoring 91 in the Test Piece.

Next week, we will go straight on to the 2013 European Brass Band Championships, held in Oslo, Norway.

Program No. 73 - Dragons

This week is a Dragon potpourri, with special guest presenter, my youngest son, Ben. Ben really likes dragons, so I thought this would be a fun theme for tonight's show. We're looking at movie theme that involve dragons, as well as some brass band pieces with dragons in the titles.

This will be a relatively brief summary, as I have been away for a week and will only be home this afternoon.

1. This is Berk
2. Ready the Ships
3. Counter Attack
4. Where's Hiccup?
5. Coming Back Around
  - from How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
This CGI kids movie was released by Dreamworks Animation, which has also released the Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar movies. The movie is actually based on a series of books written by Cressida Cowell.

The music was composed by John Powell. This may not be a name familiar to many, but the movies that he has provided scores for will be well know to you. They include kids films such as Shrek, Chicken Run, Happy Feet and Kung Fu Panda (this last one in collaboration with Hans Zimmer) as well as adult movies such as The Jason Bourne movies and X Men: The Last Stand.

John Powell was nominated for an Academy Award for this score, but lost out to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their work on Social Network.

6. Eragon
7. Battle for Varden
  - from Eragon (2006)
This movie was also based on a book series, this one penned by author Christopher Paolini. This starred Ed Speelers as Aragon, and the cast included both Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich.

The music was composed by Patrick Doyle. Other movies he has scored for include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Nim's Island, Thor and Brave.

8. Hero
9. The Dragon Scroll
10. Dragon Warrior is Amongst Us
11. Dragon Warrior Rises
  - from Kung Fu Panda (2008)
This is one of my favourite animated movies and, as mentioned, above come from Dreamworks Animation. The music is a collaboration between John Powell, and one of the absolute masters in movie scoring, Hans Zimmer.

12. Finale
  - from Dragonheart (1996)
Not a very well known movie, but with a huge ensemble cast, including Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery (as the voice of Draco, the dragon), David Thewlis, Julie Christie, Peter Postletwhaite, Jason Isaacs and John Gielgud.

The music is scored by Randy Edelman, who has scored well over 40 movies.

13. Summon the Dragon - Black Dyke Band
Written by Pater Graham as a Fanfare and Prelude for the National Youth Band of Wales, this was recorded by Black Dyke Band for their 2002 album, Call of the Cossacks.

 14. The Year of the Dragon - Britannia Building Society Band
This is one of Philip Sparke's earlier major works for brass band, and still played in most contests as an "Own Choice" work by or two bands. This was recorded by the Britannia Building Society Band for their 1992 album, The Year of the Dragon.

15. Dragons Arise - Williams Fairey Engineering Band
This brass band pieces as composed by Philip Wilby and was recorded by the Williams Fairey Engineering Band on their 1997 album, Jazz.

Day of the Dragon
16. Overture - Hunting the Hare
17. Lullaby - Suo Gan
18. Welsh Clog Dance (Little Tinker Boy)
19. Ballad - By Kell's Waters
20. Triumph - Men of Harlech
  - Buy As You View Band
This major concert work was written by Peter Graham and is a joint commission from the Buy as You View Band and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales. The five movements are based on traditional Welsh Folk Songs and feature solos for cornet, trombone, horn, flugel, euphonium. This was recorded by the band for their 2004 Album Day of the Dragon.

Well, both brass band and movie music in this week's show.

Next week, something totally different as we play music from American trombone player, Trombone Shorty.

Program No. 69 - George Lloyd

George Lloyd would not be considered one of the most prolific composer of music for brass bands, nor did he solely concentrate on brass band music. His brass works, though, are considered part of the standard repertoire of brass band contesting works, and have been since his first brass band composition in the mid 1980's.

Born in Cornwall in 1913, Lloyd was brought up in a very musical family with his father an accomplished flautist and his mother able to play violin, viola and piano.  He started composing music when he as 9 years old, with serious study of composition when he was 14.

Over his musical career he penned no less than 12 symphonies, 7 concertos, and a variety of other works for voice, piano, orchestra, and of course brass bands.

Lloyd wasn't just a composer, though. During the second World War Lloyd joined the Royal Marines, as a cornet player in their band. During one voyage in 1942, as a result of tragic accident, the ship he was on (the HMS Trinidad) torpedoed itself, and many lives were lost in that incident. Lloyd himself was hospitalised for a number of years with what would now be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He eventually recovered and was discharged in 1946.

Until 1972 he owned and operated a market garden where he grew mushrooms and carnations. During this time he continued composing, mostly before work started. After he sold his business he spent his remainder years composing a large number of his works, including all his brass band pieces. He passed away in 1998, aged 85.

1. H.M.S. Trinidad March (John Foster Black Dyke Mills Band)
We begin tonight with a march composed by Lloyd in 1941 for the ship he sailed on, H.M.S. Trinidad. This, together with a number of other works on the show, comes from a 1991 album released by the John Foster Black Dyke Mills Band, with David King as conductor, called Lloyd: English Heritage.

2. Symphony No. 10 'November Journeys' (Cory Band)

'When the BBC told me they would like me to write a piece for the Northern Brass Ensemble it so happened that about that time I was taking advantage of some cheap rail fares to visit various cathedrals I had never seen before. As I journeyed around the country I kept on thinking of sounds for the brass and these sounds became mixed up with the magnificent buildings I was seeing ; this led me eventually to write on the score ‘Impressions and reflections whilst travelling to visit some cathedrals’. There is nothing very ecclesiastic about the music except for the second movement, which is rather like a carol. I was able to have any combination of instruments I chose, so in order to achieve flexibility together with soft and bright sounds, I scored the work for 1 Piccolo Trumpet, 3 B Flat Trumpets, 1 Flugelhorn, 3 Horns, 3 Trombones, 1 Euphonium, 1 Tuba.’           George Lloyd (30 March 1981) 

This work was subsequently transcribed for Brass Band by Luc Vertommen. It is being performed here by Cory Band, with Dr. Robert Childs as conductor, from their 2008 album, Actaeon.

3. Royal Parks (John Foster Black Dyke Mills Band)
This was the first of the main works written for brass band by Lloyd (1984), actually written for the 1985 European Band Championships in Copenhagen. This piece is in 3 movements. The following description is from a distinguished brass band conductor here in Melbourne.

•  Dawn Flights - military bandsmen are heading to a band performance in Regents Park. The "dawn flights" are the actual flights to this gig.

• In Memoriam - The IRA bombed the bandstand on 20th July 1982, killing seven soldiers and injuring 24 others during a concert by the band of the Royal Green Jackets. The bandstand is sometimes called the "Memorial Bandstand" in memory of the dead soldiers. Lloyd actually lived nearby and heard the explosion.

• Holidays - After this horrific event, the rest of the band are told to take some time off. This movement depicts the members attempting to take a holiday, but with the events of that day never far from their mind.

This performance is again from the album Lloyd: English Heritage.

4. Diversions on a Bass Theme (Oslofjord Brass)
The story goes that apparently complaints were made to Lloyd because Royal Parks was considered to be too easy for brass bands contests at the highest level. Lloyd thought to himself "I'll show them" and 2 years later Diversions on a Bass Theme was finished. Whether or not this is true is not that important, however it is true that this piece is a huge contrast to Royal Parks. The Bass Theme not only refers to the Bass end of the band, but also to the company that sponsored the work, Bass Brewery.

This performance is by Oslfjord Brass, from the 1997 Norwegian Brass Band Championships.

5. English Heritage (Black Dyke Band)

"The piece was commissioned by Michael Walker for the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England – hence its title ‘English Heritage’ and was first performed jointly by Black Dyke and Grimethorpe Colliery, conducted by Geoffrey Brand at a Kenwood Lakeside Concert on 2nd July 1988 in the presence of the composer. Two years later it was chosen as the set work for the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall, where the then CWS (Glasgow) Band conducted by John Hudson took the title." 4barsrest.com

This performance is by Black Dyke Band, from the 2010 Regional Contests.

6. Evening Song (John Foster Black Dyke Mills Band)
Interestingly, most reviews of Lloyd's brass band works seem to fail to mention this piece. But it is in a definitive list of works by Lloyd found here. It's also on the album Lloyd: English Heritage that we have already heard from. There isn't much else I can add, except for the fact that it was composed in 1991.

7. King's Messenger (Cory Band)
Cory Band were recently in Australia, and performed this piece in the concerts out here. This was Lloyd's final composition for brass band having composed it in 1993, aged 80. This piece is also why this program wasn't heard originally as intended a fortnight ago. The album that this is on, Words and Music, by Cory Band with Philip Harper as conductor, was only released just over a week ago.

I hope you enjoyed tonight's look at brass works by George Lloyd.

We've spent a fair bit of time over the last month or so listening to brass band music. We'll move away from that as next week's show will feature music performed by American trumpeter, Chris Botti.