I ST EN IN
The listening lounge BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
Something I have always loved as a trombonist is the moment a friend or colleague says, ‘have you heard …’ The idea of The Listening Lounge has been born out of that moment; a space in The Trombonist to feature tracks or albums which may be well known, or more obscure, but which might open up a new or unexpected musical experience for the listener and encourage further exploration. Selecting the contents of The Listening Lounge is up to you, the readers of The Trombonist; to nominate a track or album simply send your suggestion to editor@britishtrombonesociety.org. To get the ball the rolling, and to give you some insight into the musical tastes of your new Editor, I’ve selected the first five tracks for entry into … The Listening Lounge.
NELSON RIDDLE – THE
LOS VAN VAN
RAY ANDERSON – BIG
GIOVANNI PICC HI –
AARON COPL AND –
JOY OF LIVING
Arguably Cuba ’s most popular dance band, the Grammy Award winning Los Van Van may have just celebrated their 50 th birthday but the party is far from over. Ever revolutionary, Los Van Van features a horn section consisting solely of three trombones. Los Van Van have a huge back catalogue but for a taste try VANVANEO from 2017 album Legado.
BAND RECORD
CANZONI DA SONAR
SYMPHONY NO. 3
American jazz trombonist Ray Anderson has been pushing the boundaries since the 1970’s. LIPS APART from his 1994 album Big Band Record, sums up his approach perfectly: virtuosic, inventive, playful yet musically challenging, continuing in the best traditions of the early jazz pioneers.
CON OGNI SORTE
Aaron Copland’s Symphony no. 3 is perhaps the quintessential American symphony. The highlight is his reworking of Fanfare for the Common Man to form the fourth movement, but the whole work is well worth finding the time to listen to. This classic RECORDING features Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Why not follow the score as you listen? Bernstein’s annotated copy, along with the orchestral parts, has been made available to the public by the New York Philharmonic as part of the LEON LEVY DIGITAL ARCHIVE.
Mention Nelson Riddle and most people will immediately think of his iconic orchestrations for the likes of Frank Sinatra; most trombonists will also think of George Roberts aka ‘Mr Bass Trombone’. Af ter playing on numerous of the legendary vocal albums produced by Capitol Records during the 1950s, Riddle made a series of instrumental albums featuring Roberts’ unique ‘voice’. MAKIN’ WHOOPEE is from the 1959 album The Joy of Living, mix yourself a Martini, sit back and enjoy.
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D’ISTROMENTI
The Venetian early Baroque composer Giovanni Picchi is not a well-known name, unlike his contemporary Claudio Monteverdi, but much of Picchi’s surviving music calls for the use of one or more trombones and deserves to be better appreciated. Canzon Decima a 4, Doi Tromboni e doi Flauti skilfully combines the highly unusual instrumentation of two trombones and t wo recorders, performed here by CONCERTO SCIROCCO in the first complete recording of Picchi’s Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d’istromenti.
