If you’re a Canadian Brass fan who remembers the group’s classic RCA recordings from the 1980s and ’90s, you’ll be interested in the reissue/availability of its more recent offerings from its own Opening Day Recordings label, distributed by Universal Music. This release, from 2002, includes a wide-ranging program of first-class arrangements, from Scheidt and Gabrieli and Bach to Jelly Roll Morton (Black Bottom Stomp), a Glenn Miller medley, and Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me”. Film composer Michael Kamen’s Quintet, an original work for brass quintet written “at the request of former Canadian Brass trumpeter Ronald Romm”, is a highlight. The group’s trademark extraordinary technical precision and highly polished ensemble tone inform every selection, and although only two of the original members of the Brass remain (Chuck Daellenbach and Gene Watts), the consistent artistic standard and aim to entertain with dazzling, joyous music-making continues. If you haven’t heard this legendary quintet before, this is a good place to start; if you’re a brass ensemble fan, it’s a must.
