The Crystal Palace Brett Baker (Trombone) with John Wilson (pianoforte) reviewed by Chris Thomas for BBW July 2015
In recent years, Brett Baker has garnered a reputation as a kind of musical archaeologist; a man on a personal mission to rediscover trombone solo from an era that has seen much of its once overflowing repertoire fade inexorably into the mist of time.
This is not to say that all of the composers on this new collection of solos of the past are unfamiliar, however. Names such as William Rimmer, J. Ord Hume and Stephen Adams (latter of The Holy City fame) stand out from a list of composers that also includes the less familiar likes o L. Boos, N.R. Eberhart and L. Zimmerman, all of whom were connected in some shape or form with the Sousa Band.
Curiously, Rimmer's St. Crispin and Amabel are amongst the most appealing pieces on the disc; a matter of familiarity perhaps, although Herbert Clarke’s From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific, J Levy’s swashbuckling The Whirlwind and Goldman’s American Caprice are not only enjoyable, but also give Brett Baker ample scope to display his abundant technique.
If there is a downside to the project, it is the lack of stylistic contrast between a good number of the 12 pieces featured. Despite spanning nearly 60 years from Bellini’s Il Parata of 1882 to J. Levy’s The Whirlwind, written earlier but published in 1941, there is a prescriptive feeling about some of the pieces that arguably makes this a disc to dip into, rather than listen to in one sitting. Don’t let that detract though. Ably accompanied by pianist, John Wilson, and with the disc being handsomely presented in a DVD style case with informative notes by the soloist himself, Brett Baker’s playing is beyond reproach, demonstrating the type of technical agility, fullness of tone and ease of articulation that we have come to expect from Black Dyke’s former Principal Trombone Soloist. The richness of his lower register is particularly evident in these recordings, but more significant still is the sheer sense of enthusiasm and commitment that Brett Baker beings to the music, which, were it not for his academic efforts, might have remained consigned to a dusty archive for ever more.
For that alone, Brett Baker is to be commended for his indomitable spirit of historical musical exploration.
Chris Thomas BBW
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