Axiom Brass

[Steve Marcus]

There are brass quintets that get together to casually read through some scores and bend an elbow or three.

There are brass quintets that get together primarily to play the local gigs: weddings, parties, church services, etc.

There’s nothing wrong with either of the above groups. They represent how making music remains a vital, engaging activity for life (as opposed to passive listening).

Then there are brass quintets whose goal is to perform chosen repertoire at the highest artistic level. They work relentlessly to play as a unit, i.e., an ensemble, not merely as five individual players.

An example of the latter is Axiom Brass. The four-paragraph description of this quintet provided at last evening’s recital at Northwestern U attests to their achievements as a group rather than simply reviewing biographical details of each of the players. In fact, the copious program notes for the recital did not even list the names of the five players; they were announced by Michael Martin, one of the trumpet players, before the final set of pieces.

While the quintet’s goal with some generic audiences is, as their website states, “dazzling…with swingin’ jazz charts or with their entertaining humor,” last evening’s repertoire, played to an audience consisting of a high percentage of university music students and other accomplished musicians, was in preparation for their entry in the Fischoff competition. Thus, the sophisticated, well-prepared music spoke for itself; no “stage schtick“ was necessary to keep this audience entertained.

The concert began with two staples of the brass quintet ouevres, Lutoslawski’s Mini Overture and Ewald’s Brass Quintet No. 2. The Brass Quintet by Anders Hillborg followed. This is a piece that requires carefully sewn interplay among the musicians to create the effects that Hillborg was seeking, such as “the sound of a record being played backwards.” The results were mesmerizing.

After intermission, Axiom Brass performed Three Fancies on Italian Madrigals. Raymond Mase effectively transcribed the music of Monteverdi, Marenzio, and Vecchi for brass quintet. As pieces that could be tackled by less experienced quintets, Axiom Brass provided a clean, musical approach.

Four Moods for Brass by Arthur Harris were next in the recital. The program notes stated that Harris’ “arrangements of traditional tunes for concert band are his most commonly performed pieces.” But I recall his many arrangements that were recorded on Columbia Records by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (and members thereof). As one who is remembered for his transcriptions and arrangements, Harris’ original compositional technique proved, from the sound of these four pieces, to be very accessible but clearly 20th century in style--very satisfying to listen to and to perform.

Robert Nagel’s arrangement of Contrapunctus X from Bach’s Art of the Fugue followed. This was a fairly straightforward presentation of a double fugue. A fellow audience member commented that one of the players took some liberty with slight rubato which sounded out of place for a Baroque contrapuntal piece. But I did not hear anything out of context or style that was not appropriate for translating Bach’s music to the brass quintet.

The final selection was Four Pieces by Paquito D’Rivera. Paraphrasing the program notes, D’Rivera’s compositions fuse classical, jazz, and European folk elements to which he has been exposed in his career. American ears are becoming more and more accustomed to the European folk rhythms; for example, MySpace is packed with sites of groups who play Balkan and other “ethnic” music containing rhythmic patterns that one does not find in the majority of rock or jazz music (with exceptions such as Zappa, Keith Emerson, Yes, Jethro Tull, etc.). When Dave Brubeck released his “Time Out” album, it took some listeners time (pun intended) to get used to the 5-in-a-bar or the 2-2-2-3 pattern of Blue Rondo a la Turk. Now, the rhythms presented in D’Rivera’s music hardly seem “foreign” at all. A brass quintet can really “own” this kind of music, as was solidly proven by Axiom Brass.

It isn’t common for performers in an academic setting to receive the unrelenting applause that required Axiom Brass to take three curtain calls (unless family members and close friends of the performer[s] urge the rest of the audience on). But it was unquestionable that Axiom Brass had earned such accolades from the audience. It’s a shame that we weren’t treated to an encore. No doubt an appropriate selection is in Axiom Brass’ “book.” But they came with a purpose, and they completed what they set out to accomplish--a solid, highly musical performance.

TUBA CONTENT: Kevin Harrison, Principal Tuba of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, played F tuba for the entire concert (geek warning: the horn appeared to be an M-W 2182). Much of the repertoire had Kevin playing well above the staff at pianissimo level. He did this so effectively that the timbre of his sound blended beautifully with the cylindrical horns. Meanwhile, his low CCC at the end of the Contrapunctus X wasn’t bashful, either. Well done, Kevin.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I guess this is different Axiom Brass than what I am familiar with. I have seen a quintet that went by the name of Axiom Brass that Kevin Sanders was a part of. Different group or did they just move on without Sanders?

It's the same group...Kevin Sanders used to play with this quintet, now it's Kevin Harrison. No huge mystery.