“Music for Battle Creek” = SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Opus 93, II. Allegro; CLIFFORD BROWN: Joy Spring; JOSEPH TURRIN: Hymn for Diana; BILL CONTI: Gonna Fly Now; OFFENBACH: Barcarole from the Tales of Hoffman, Opus 67; CHABRIER: España; W. C. HANDY: St. Louis Blues; PHILIP SPARKE: Music for Battle Creek; WAGNER: Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin – Brass Band of Battle Creek / Mark Gould, Constantine Kitsopoulos, Richard Evans, Sarah Ioannides – MSR Classics MS 1348 [Distr. Albany], 66:42 ****:
The Brass Band of Battle Creek, an ensemble in the tradition of the British brass band (brass and percussion, no woodwinds), has a large following especially in the Midwest. Their latest recording, the first since 2005, should therefore have a built-in audience, as well as win some wider acceptance. The performances on this disc are all infectiously lively, the product of performance in front of a live audience, and showcase playing that’s often breathtaking in terms of control and improvisatory freedom. Extra personnel come on board for jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown’s jumpin’ “Joy Spring” (electric guitar) and Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” (voices); they aren’t credited but add luster to the performances.
Maybe inevitably, I have some issues with the arrangements. Offenbach’s “Barcarole” is over-sentimentalized, with crooning euphoniums and tinkly bar chimes, while W. C. Handy’s great blues number undergoes a strange, Sibelian atomization. Percussion and a lone trumpet do riffs on fragments of the theme before it’s heard in full about a minute and a half in. Then Handy’s habanera-rhythm bridge passage seems to spawn a weird rumba beat in Wycliffe Gordon’s arrangement. Luckily, the all-important lyrics are preserved and very nicely rendered by the uncredited singers. Maybe I’m just a stick in the mud.
On the other hand, Shostakovich and Chabrier sound just fine in these pared-down versions; the Wagner number shows off great breath control and manages to be touching, not cloying; and Jay Chattaway’s jazzy arrangement of Conti’s theme from Rocky gives that chestnut a new lease on life. Then there’s Philip Sparke’s Music for Battle Creek, written with the talents of the musicians in mind. It has some dazzling moments and will probably have a long life with this band.
The live recording is exemplary—close up but spacious, timbrally accurate, with pinpoint placement of the instruments. The soundstage is handsomely wide as well. A very fine job all around. My minor gripes notwithstanding (I wouldn’t be a critic if I didn’t have ’em), this is one for all lovers of brass band music.
-Lee Passarella
