My Two Favorite Christmas Brass Recordings
I think that many people would agree that brass instruments are synonymous with holiday music. There is something truly special about how a brass quintet or trombone ensemble can punctuate the spirit of both festive and sentimental music. There are many great Christmas brass recordings, too many to list all of them here, so I will take a moment to share just two of my all-time favorites. If you haven’t heard them, I hope you will check them out!
Joy to the World-Music of Christmas by Empire Brass
I grew up in El Paso, Texas, and while I was in high school, I was able to hear the incredible Empire Brass perform with the El Paso Symphony multiple times. I was blown away by this incredible ensemble and quickly purchased all their recordings. One of these Empire Brass recordings, Joy to the World-Music of Christmas, is my absolute favorite Christmas brass recording. I can listen to it anytime, on constant repeat, and I never get tired of it.
The primary performers on this recording are Rolf Smedvig and Jeffrey Curnow on trumpet, Martin Hackleman on horn, Scott Hartman on trombone, and Sam Pilafian on tuba. This was truly one of the greatest gatherings of brass talent ever assembled. The quintet was joined by additional performers on some tracks, including Jonathan Menkis on horn, Nancy Allen on harp, Mark Kroll on harpsichord, Arthur Press on percussion, and the Concert Handbell Ringers of the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island, Daniel Moore, director.
The album was recorded from May 25-27, 1988, at Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Methuen, Massachusetts. The recording engineers were John Newton and Robert Norberg, Patti Laursen was the producer, and the cover photo was taken by Lincoln Russell. The album is on Angel Records, and the CD that I own was distributed by EMI Digital (CDC 7 49097 2).
There is a total of 17 tracks, with a running time of 58:55. The CD has some nice liner notes for each track provided by Doug Ordunio. I love every track, but if I had to pick, my favorites are Joy to the World, O Holy Night, and Deck the Halls. The incredible sound of the ensemble is on perfect display on Joy to the World, including impeccable piccolo trumpet playing from both Rolf Smedvig and Jeffrey Curnow, and some bold horn playing by Martin Hackleman. Scott Hartman shines as soloist on O Holy Night, performing with gorgeous tone and incredibly expressive phrasing. The arrangement of Deck the Halls highlights the ensemble’s incredible virtuosity, and Sam Pilafian’s tuba playing inspires incredible energy and tempo from all the performers.
The additional tracks are arrangements of The Holy and the Ivy, Good Christian Men Rejoice, The First Noell, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Angels We Have Heard On High, Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming, O Come O Come Emanuel, Good King Wenceslas, What Child Is This, Silent Night, O Tannenbaum, and O Come All Ye Faithful. In addition, there is an original work by Frank Denson titled Make a Joyful Noise, and a medley of Away in a Manger, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. Truly breathtaking performances from start to finish. I highly recommend it!
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by the Hollywood Trombones
When I was first getting to know more about the many great trombone players in the world, I became aware of the incredible collection of trombone players in the Los Angeles Studios. I can still remember my excitement when I found an LP of Tutti’s Trombones at a local record store, and the subsequent mind-blowing moments when I first played it on my record player. Wow! This was my first introduction to trombone players like Dick Nash, Frank Rosolino, Joe Howard, and Hoyt Bohannon. A few years later, I discovered the recording Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by the Hollywood Trombones, and it has been a regular listen every holiday season ever since. There is nothing quite like that Hollywood trombone sound!
Tommy Pederson was well known for composing and arranging pieces for various combinations of trombones for him to play with his trombone colleagues from the studios. Eventually, Tommy and Donald Waldrop decided to devote time to Christmas arrangements for trombones to play at a Christmas party at Donald’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Over time, the number of arrangements grew, and the number of partygoers did too! This eventually led to recording this album at Lansing Recital Hall at Biola University in August of 1987. The album was first released on HMA Records and eventually picked up by Summit Records (DCD 1001) in 1990.
I own the Summit Records CD, and it has excellent liner notes by Donald Waldrop and great photos by Michael Rothman and Wendy Jendro. There is a total of 19 tracks, all well-known favorites, with a total running time of 42:26. Famous West Coast composer/arranger/performer, Bob Florence, contributed arrangements of Winter Wonderland and Auld Lang Syne. Tommy Pederson provided arrangements of We Three Kings, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, The Little Drummer Boy, and Good King Wenceslas. Gene Puerling, famous for his arrangements for the Singers Unlimited albums, approved of his Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear arrangements to be transcribed for trombones. Gene provided the vocal score for Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Hoyt Bohannon transcribed It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by ear. Additional arrangements were provided by Dick Nash, Donald Waldrop, Mauro Bruno, Fred Dutton, Jeff Reynolds, and George Wyle.
The list of performers is truly remarkable! The trombonists are Tommy Pederson, Chauncey Welsch, Randy Aldcroft, Bill Tole, Ernie Carlson, Bob Payne, Jeff Reynolds, Donald Waldrop, Charlie Loper, Dick Nash, Morris Repass, Bill Booth, Ira Nepus, Bob Sanders, Phil Teele, Alan Kaplan, Jim Sawyer, and Roy Main. The trombones are joined on some tracks by Mark Stevens on drums and Harvey Newmark on bass. The musical director was Donald Waldrop, and the recording engineer was Sonny Ausman, then a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic trombone section. Sonny and Donald were joined by Audrey and Herbert Ausman to produce the album. Sonny captured the sound with Coles 4038 ribbon mics, RCA 44 ribbon mics, and Schoeps CMC5 condenser mics, and a Sonosax-SX8 transformer-less board.
My favorite Christmas song is The Christmas Song, and Dick Nash’s arrangement of the classic tune for this album is my favorite recording on the album. The arrangement is a solo feature for Dick Nash, played with the special beauty that only he can achieve! In the liner notes, Donald Waldrop mentioned that when Dick Nash was unable to attend one of the Christmas party performances, all the other trombone players drew straws for the opportunity to play the solo! Another favorite is Bob Florence’s swinging arrangement of Winter Wonderland. The groove is set by rhythm players Harvey Newmark and Mark Stevens, and Bob Florence joins in with some comping on his Yamaha DX-7. The lead trombone playing is spot on, and great improvised solos are played by Chauncey Welsch, Dick Nash, Charlie Loper, Randy Aldcroft, Bob Payne, and Alan Kaplan. The bass trombones have a rocking coda to end the arrangement.
I hope that you might listen to these favorites of mine and enjoy all your favorites too! Happy Holidays and happy listening!
Paul Compton
Professor of Trombone
