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“We’re going to take the beautiful Christmas tunes you love and play them loud and angry,” was the introduction by Boston Brass’s tubist, Andrew Hitz. Loud, indeed, but the energy from the stage of Johnson County Community College’s Yardley Hall was in no way angry. The Boston Brass, along with the Brass All-Stars Big Band, played a selection of holiday tunes from their albums, Christmas Bells are Swingin’ and The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols.

The program was a mix of arrangements of sacred and secular tunes. Many of the sacred pieces were arranged by Ralph Carmichael for Stan Kenton’s band, giving the overall concert a decidedly jazz-influenced slant. Though the first selection of “Joy to the World” was a little weak, with an unbalanced and out-of-tune horn section, the rest of the concert was fun and upbeat. Between each piece, different members from the group talked to the audience telling jokes and stories, giving the ensemble time to rest their chops from a challenging selection of repertoire.

Though described by Hitz as “12 brass players and people banging on things,” the performers are all top-shelf musicians from across the country. One of the highlights of the evening was trombonist Harry Watters’ solo rendition of “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” dedicated to all the men and women in the Armed Services, accompanied by David Cutler on piano and Andrew Hitz on tuba. Watters currently serves in the United States Army Band. Also impressive was “Jingle Bells Forever,” an arrangement by J.D. Shaw for Boston Brass, that rendered the traditional carol “Jingle Bells” in the style of J.P. Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, complete with “dogfight” section and piccolo solo (performed by Jose Sibala on piccolo trumpet).

Cutler’s arrangement of “O Come All Ye Faithful” began surreally, with fluttering air techniques from the trumpets over dense chords. It was eclectically inspired, drawing from rock, funk, Latin, even a little ragtime, yet didn’t obscure the melody. My only beef with this selection was when trumpeter Fred Powell finally had the opportunity to improvise, he was drowned out by the massive sound and too much tambourine. Another exciting piece was Shaw’s arrangement of “Greensleeves” that strongly resembled the popular Kenton recording, “Malagueña.”

While the pieces were intricately performed, there were lighter moments throughout. Lance LaDuke, trombonist for the Boston Brass, performed two vocal pieces: “Wonderful Time of the Year” (self accompanied on ukulele and with the chorus sung “like a pirate” or “without consonants”) and “Dan the Unwise Man.” Cutler’s solo performance of a gospel inspired “O Christmas Tree” was hilarious as he trundled through various styles, as well as his shtick during “12 Days of Christmas” of talking on his cell phone during the final “partridge” chorus.

I had a few issues with the production, like the over-amplification of the piano and tuba, as well as the over use of tambourine in almost every piece. It was appropriate to bring the tambourine to the forefront along with the quintet during the Arabian Dance, in J.D. Shaw’s arrangement of “The Nutcracker Dances,” but in almost every other instance it was too much and too constant.

The Boston Brass and the Brass All-Stars Big Band put on an exhilarating and impressive performance. Often during December, we are inundated with crass arrangements of schlocky, saccharine Christmas songs. Excellent musicianship, exciting, varied material, and tongue-in-cheek humor pleasantly roused my holiday spirit.

REVIEW:
Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series
Boston Brass and the Brass All-Stars Big Band
Christmas Bells are Swingin’
Friday, December 3, 2010
Johnson County Community College
Carlsen Center, Yardley Hall
12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS
For more information visit www.jccc.edu

By Libby Hanssen

Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor

Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.

While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.

Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.

She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.