Trombones under the Tree

All the warm weather we have been having has made me thought about Christmas, naturally, and when it comes to Christmas there is one trombone quartet album that never goes out of style: Trombones Under the Tree.

This is a super group consisting of Joseph Alessi, Mark Lawrence, Carl Lenthe, M. Dee Stewart. Joe, Mark, and Carl were former students of Dee Stewart at Curtis and came together at Indiana University one hot summer to record this album on the Musical Arts Center stage. This was all done over a week when they also held a summer seminar for students to pay for the album. Following the completion of the album, the quartet went out to a go-cart track in Brown county where Joe's go-cart malfunctioned and infuriated him as the rest of the ensemble lapped him over and over.

I asked Carl when they would reunite and come out with another album, but he said the best part about doing a Christmas album is that it comes back in style every year, so there is no need for another one. 

Vienna Trombone Quartet

Another favorite European trombone quartet, the Vienna Trombone quartet consists of Vienna Philharmonic trombonists Dietmar Küblböck, Otmar Gaiswinkler, Erik Hainzl and Hans Ströcker or Wolfgang Pfistermüller depending on recording.  This group showcases technical ability as well as musicality and deserves as much recognition as other groups from the 90's such as Four of a kind and Triton Trombone quartet.  I've linked two of their albums below, take a listen and find out just how good the Vienna Philharmonic trombone section is.

Nay Palm Bones

This group is a little personal, because it was founded by my former teacher and I am playing on three tracks on their album. 

The Nay Palm Bones is a group consisting of Mark Hetzler (Professor at the University of Wisconsin, former Empire Brass), Jeffery Peterson (Jacksonville Symphony), Jeffery Thomas (Orlando Symphony), and Harold Van Schaik (Florida Orchestra).  The first recording they did was a transcription of Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet on Mark Hetzler's 20th Century Architects album which showcases the  virtuosity that a trombone quartet is capable of.  I highly reccomend checking this recording out, especially the second and third movements.  

Recently they released a full album as an ensemble entitled Sonic Horizons which I have linked below.  I was fortunate enough to play on three tracks: Mountain Nights by Kodaly, and the Bernstein Simple Song and In Nomine Patris.  Enjoy!

Four of a Kind

Arguably one of the most definitive trombone quartets out there, Four of a Kind is made up of Joe Alessi (Principal, New York Phill), Scott Hartman (Former Empire Brass, Professor at Yale), Mark Lawrence (Former Principal San Francisco), and Blair Bollinger (Bass Trombone, Philadelphia orchestra).  The group hasn't been together for some time, but they have two CD's with definitive recordings of standard trombone repertoire to difficult arrangements.  Both are linked below.  These CD's are some of the finest trombone quartet playing to this day, and despite the fact they were released over 20 years ago, I imagine it will be a while before there's a group that can surpass this one.

Triton Trombone Quartet

The Triton trombone quartet is one of my favorite European quartets and has-in my opinion- definitive recordings of some of our standard repertoire.  Unfortunately, the group disbanded a while ago and has no online presence, so little is known about them.  Recently, however, I've discovered liner notes for one of their albums which includes a lot of information on the group.

The ensemble was formed in 1982 originally under the name of Bielefeld Trombone Quartet.  It's origional focus was early music - sometimes on authentic instrument - and some twentieth-century compositions but eventually expanded to cover all repertoire.  In 1986 the group won first prize at the third International Chamber Music Competition for Brass in Barcs, Hungary, which was followed by numerous concert tours across the globe.

The ensemble consisted of Olaf Ott (solo trombonist of the Berlin Phil), Ulrich Behrends, Ulrich Dieckmann, and Hermann Baumer, who was a member of the Bamberg Symphony and Berlin Phil and now a prominent conductor in Germany.  

I've left my favorite album below, but they have three more on spotify that are also worth checking out.  

Quartet and Rhythm section

Here are two jazz band charts featuring the trombone section.  These are both with Dave Matthew's Manhattan Jazz Orchestra featuring an all-start trombone section of Jim Pugh, Conrad Herwing, Larry Farrell, and Dave Taylor.  Enjoy!

Bones Apart- All Female Trombone Quartet

This is one of the first trombone quartet videos I remember hearing as a young student- an all-female group from the UK called Bones Apart playing the snot out of the Stars and Stripes Forever.

There was little else I knew about this group since the internet was still somewhat new at the time and they didn't have any other videos up or much of an online presence, but that has changed significantly.  First off, they now have a website and very active facebook page with member names and bios.  All of the members are prominent trombonists in the U.K. and hold positions with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony. 

The group also has many more recordings.  Besides what is now on their facebook page and Youtube channel, they have also released a number of Cd's.  I've linked two of them on spotify below, go check them out now!!!

New York Philharmonic Trombone Quartet

This is a trombone quartet recording of the New York Philharmonic trombone section in 2011, consisting of Joe Alessi, David Finlayson, Amanda Davidson, and Jim Markey.  This recording is off of Joe's Slide Partners album, which is a tribute to the great Author Pryor.  This quartet doesn't quite fit with everything else on the album, but it is a fantastic example of the virtuoso trombone playing that Joe and the rest of the NY Phil trombone section is capable of.

Chamber Literature Presentation Vol. 2

Here is the playlist from my second chamber music class presentation.

Jan Koetsier (1911-2006): Brass Quintet Op.65 (1974)
1. Andante con moto- Allegro
2. Andantino
3. Milton Vivace

Album: United (2017)

Performers: Berlin Brass Quintet

David Sampson (B. 1951): Morning Music (1986)

Album: New American Brass

Performers: American Brass Quintet

Jan Van der Roost (b. 1956): Chemical Suite (1991)
1. Kalium Cyanide
2. Glycerine

3. Chloroform
4. Ethanol

Album: Sculpting the Air (2011)

Performers: Daniel Speer Trombone Consort

Daniel Schnyder (B. 1961): Olympia 

Album: Full Power (2013)

Performers: Trombone Unit Hannover

Jean-Francois Michel (B. 1957): Eastwind (2012)

Album: Tintomara (2015)

Performers:Wim Van Hasselt, Jorgen van Rijen, too many others to name

Frank Zappa (1940-1993): Peaches en Regalia (1969)

Album: Prime Meridian (1995)

Performers: Meridian Arts Ensemble

Le Quatuor de trombones de paris

Le Quatuor de trombones de paris is another one of my favorite trombone ensembles to this day.  Formed by Michel Becquet, this ensemble has an unapologetically French style to it and executes it so well.  Unfortunately, most of their recordings are tough to find but they do have a live recording from Japan up on spottily that is definitely worth checking out.




 

New York Trombone Quartet

The New York Trombone Quartet is one of the greatest trombone quartets that no one seems to know about.  Comprised of New York trombone legends Ed Neumeister, Jim Pugh, Joseph Alessi,and Dave Taylor, their one album, Collage, features virtuoso trombone playing from arranged jazz standards to an incredible arrangement of Bartok's fourth string quartet that no other quartet to this day could pull off.  This is a fantastic recording that is surprisingly hard to find, but fortunately Ed Neumeister has put the entire album up on soundcloud.  Enjoy!

 

Leningrad Philharmonic Trombone Quartet

Most of the trombone quartet recordings before the 1990's consisted of a particular orchestra's trombone section seeing as how there were few substantial original works and only one real professional trombone quartet (Slokar Quartet, founded 1973).  There are only a few of these recordings and many of them are dated or of low quality by today's standards, but the Leningrad Philharmonic trombone section put out two fantastic quartet albums in the 70's. 

The first of these albums, Virtuosity of Trombone  (1973), features almost entirely works written for trombone quartet, which is surprising as there really aren't that many pieces by this time.  This includes works by Defaye, Bozza, Serocki, and Tomasi that are still part of the trombone quartet standard repertoire, as well as a few other lesser known works. 

The second album, Music for Trombone Quartet (1977) features arrangements for trombone quartet including Bach's Fugue from Toccata and Fugue in d Minor.  

While there are "better" recordings of many of these pieces today by professional ensembles with high quality recording gear, these recordings of Leningrad are fairly clean, have style, and, most importantly, put out these recordings of original works for trombone quartet when there were few other ensembles who could play them, setting a high standard for many years.

Chamber Literature Presentation Vol. 1

Earlier this week I presented a variety of works for brass chamber works in the advanced brass ensemble literature course.  For this blog post, I would like to share that playlist and give a little bit of info on the pieces.


First is the low brass trio Triangles (1978) by John Stevens (b. 1951).  This recording is on the album The Art of the Tuba: Fabian Wallerand and is performed by Fabian Wallerand, David Defiez, and Nicolas Vallade who are all members of the National Opera of Paris.  John Stevens is a former teacher of mine at the University of Wisconsin and I was fortunate enough to receive coaching's on it from him.  It's a great piece, but it's a shame that there aren't many other works for this instrumentation.

Next is Andre Lafosse's (1890-1975) Suite Impromptu.  This recording is by the Or Notes Brass on their 2010 album of the same name.  Lafosse was a trombonist and professor at the Paris Conservatory in the early 20th century.  I've performed the Suite Imprommptu many times with my quintet at the University of Wisconsin as well as ad-hoc summer music festival groups.  It is one of my favorite works for brass quintet being very light, programmatic, and easy to listen to but also having very serious and dramatic moments.

Most people have heard Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) La File aux cheverux de Lin but I'm guessing they haven't heard it for trombone quartet.  This recording is by the Munich Trombone quartet on the 2007 album Overture, which is one of my favorite trombone quartet albums.  I especially like the German style of playing and instruments the quartet uses and think it brings out the more expressive nature of this piece more than many other quartet recordings.

Speaking of German chamber ensembles, the next piece is recorded by the German Brass on their album German Brass celebrating Wagner.  This is a part of act three of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin both the beauty of the ensemble's sound as well as the pyrotechnics they are capable of.

Coming back to America, I decided to include the modern/pop brass quartet The Westerlies and their song Saro off their title album.  This song especially showcases the groups abilities to unique sounds and effects on their instruments (and write good music).

Next is a cover of Johnny River's Secret Agent Man done by Proteus 7 on their album For Your Ears Only.  If you haven't heard of this interesting septet before, you should check out the full album which is very well produced and contains spy-movie themes as well as original tunes by Tony DiLorenzo.  If you want something more "serious" by them, they also have a "Dracula Ballet" album with music by DiLorenzo.

Lastly, I decided to include Youngblood Brass Band's Brooklyn for fun.  The group definitely stretches, if not passes, the boundaries of "brass chamber music" but half the group does consist of brass players.  This song is a lot of fun and the tuba solo in the middle is worth a listen itself.  Happy Friday everyone!

Trombone Quartet and Continuo

Daniel Speer is one of the first composers to write specifically for trombone ensembles, and his Sonata in D minor for four trombones remains one of the most-performed pre-20th century works to this day.  Written in 1686, this piece was one of many works that Speer wrote for brass ensemble, along with possibly writing the Sonata 29 from Die Bänkelsängerlieder which is a staple in brass quintet literature.

I am a huge fan of the this particular recording which is on the very first album by the Slokar Quartet.  The Slokar Quartet was founded by well-known Slovenian-German trombonist and pedagogue Branimir Slokar in 1973.  This was the first professional trombone quartet, performing all across Europe to this day and releasing many CD's of trombone quartet repertoire and arrangements, something that had not really been done before this time.  This recording is done with an organ playing a continuo part which, combined with the European-sounding Slokar Quartet, creates an epic soundscape probably close to what Speer had originally imagined.

The First Recorded Trombone Quartet

As Julie Andrews says in the Sound of Music, lets start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start!  I've wondered when the start of the modern trombone quartet was.  Surly there were sackbut quartets and ensembles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries and there are pieces written for trombone quartet such as Beethoven's Drei Equali, but there are no real documented cases of professional trombone quartet ensembles before the 20th century.  However, in 1906 the Victor recording label released a series of recordings of the "Boston Symphony Trombone Quartet" playing arrangements of dance tunes and hymns.  This was not only one of the first documented instances of professionals performing trombone quartets, but also the first recording of one and the first recording of a Boston Symphony chamber ensemble.

Here is a recording of the quartet playing Kerry Dance.  The picture in the video is of the three members of the Boston Symphony trombone section at the time: Leroy Kenfield, August Mausebach, and Carl Hampe.  Interestingly, They are all playing old-style German "Kruspe" trombones by the look of the photograph.  According to Douglas Yeo's website, Carl and August were originally from Germany, while Leroy, the bass trombonist, was from America.    Carl and August's German background might explain the use of German instruments in the American orchestra, but Douglas Yeo's website also includes their faces on an advertisement for Holton trombones, an american brand.  Maybe American instrument makers were making instruments closer to the German tradition at the time?  Wouldn't be surprising if the craftsman for these companies were first generation German immigrants.  In any case, enjoy Kerry Dance performed by the 1906 Boston Symphony Trombone Quartet.