Queen City Brass

 

Queen City Brass

Queen City Brass

Engineers: Larry Nager & Lou Ukelson

Vetco Studios - Cincinnati, Ohio

Jewel Records - Cincinnati, Ohio

Pressed October 14, 1982

Queen City Publications

From the back cover: Brass quintets play in sepia tones. No matter how timely the tune, they set everything at half-past 1903.

This is not a put-down. So please do not assume brass quintet players are a bunch of nostalgic stick-in-the-muds. They are not. Also, don't try to imagine them going out of their way to make their material sound dated or old hat. They do not. It's just that with their brassy, wind-driven tones, they make songs sound simply idyllic, like a stroll in the park right after the turn of the century. In the distance, a brass band, a quintet no less, plays under the brightly painted roof of a filigreed gazebo. The air is clean. The sun is shining. The grass is green. Everyone is civilized or tries to be. Ladies speak softly and carry dainty parasols. Gentlemen keep just as quiet and tip their hats to strangers.

Moving closer to the bandstand, it will take a bit of doing to discover who's playing. There is no electronic loudspeaker system amplifying the quintet's music. Remember, this is an acoustic brass quintet. No one has to plug in the tuba to make it work. No one could even if they wanted to. This instrument runs on lung power.

As for the quintet's name, there is no marquee putting it up in lights. There is just a simple poster on a tripod announcing the quintet's name, its members, and the current selection. Moving even closer makes the poster's message easy to read.

Presenting: The Queen City Brass. Steven Pride and Christopher Swainhart, trumpets. Dennis Hanthorn, French horn. Peter Norton, trombone. Michael Thornton, tuba. Besides the quintet, its members busy themselves with other musical endeavors. Michael Thornton and Steven Pride play in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Peter Norton performs with the Dayton Philharmonic. Dennis Hanthorn manages the Dayton Opera. Christopher Swainhart runs the group's publishing concern and leads the devil-may-care life of a free-lance musician. On this, their debut album, the Queen City Brass perform an American musical travelogue from the Broadway of George Gershwin, "By George," to the big band theme of Tommy Dorsey, "I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You," from the ragtime of Scott Joplin and Louis Chauvin, "Heliotrope Bouquet," to the march time of John Philip Sousa, "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

There may be one or two of you out there who have never heard of the Queen City Brass. These same people may be asking themselves: "What could five guys from Cincinnati, the Queen City of the West, possibly add to the literature of the brass quintet that hasn't already been covered by the Canadian Brass or the Empire Brass Quintet?"

That's a very good question. It's so good, in fact, it can be answered in one word: Plenty. Through its approach, its repertoire, and its sound, the Queen City Brass is saying something new. For one thing, this is an egalitarian outfit. There are no loafers in this group. Most brass quintets are not that way. There's no sense naming names here. They know who they are. They are easy to spot. These groups are the ones where the trumpets carry the tuba, trombone, and French horn. You won't find that with the Queen City Brass. The group is too strong in the traditionally weak links for that to happen. Everybody stands on their own around here.

This strength at every position gives the Queen City Brass a full sound, a very full sound, an extremely full sound. I'm talking a full sound here. How full is it? It's so full that at times the group sounds like the Wall-to-Wall Brass. Throughout this recording there are occasions where the music just has to be coming from more than five horns. But no. It's just the Queen City Brass' blend and tailor-made arrangements playing tricks on your ears.

There is one selection where the quintet cheats. Through the wonders of electricity and tape, Christopher Swainhart's piccolo trumpet makes the quintet a sextet. But that is the only incident of overdubbing on the LP, and it is for a good cause, "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

The Queen City Brass' repertoire makes an individual statement by tapping Cincinnati's musical heritage. "Lassus Trombone" was written by Cincinnati's march king, Henry Fillmore. "Alcoholic Blues" came from the bent elbow of Al von Tilzer, an early officer of the Cincinnati-based American Federation of Musicians Local No. 1. "Billboard March" salutes Billboard magazine, which originated in the Queen City. "May Festival Galop" honors the city's annual choral/ orchestral celebration, the May Festival. The traditional "Bier Hier," which was probably a favorite of the afore- mentioned Al von Tilzer, commemorates Cincinnati's German heritage of brewing as well as drinking beer.

With that said, this is not chauvinistic civic pride speaking. The Queen City Brass is not for local consumption only. Last year, its offerings were sampled coast to coast via the 200-station network that carries "A Prairie Home Companion." After the Queen City Brass stopped the show with "The Stars and Stripes Forever," people were comparing the quintet with the program's imaginary sponsor, Powdermilk Biscuits, and saying things like, "Heavens! They're tasty! And expeditious." – Cliff Radel

Cliff Radel is the pop music critic for The Cincinnati Enquirer. His articles have also appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and Down Beat.

Black Bottom Stomp

Alcoholic Blues

Ragtime Nightmare

Getting Sentimental Over You

Billboard March 

By George

Lassus Trombone

Heliotrope Bouquet

Carnival Of Venice

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Bier Hier

May Festival

Stars And Strips Forever