My Review of the Canadian Brass

Janice and I had the opportunity Friday evening to go see the Canadian Brass at Jesse Hall at Mizzou. I had never heard of them so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a nice surprise. The concert started with the quintet walking down the aisle playing the old hymn, Just A Closer Walk With Thee. Then they played a wide variety of songs from J.S. Bach to a musical opera by Peter Schickele for their closing number. They also did some great jazz tunes as well as some Glenn Miller selections. I think my favorite song of the night was their encore selection. They played an arrangement of Handel's Messiah mixed with When the Saints Go Marching In. I know what you're thinking, "How could that ever work?" Well, it worked great! I also never thought I would hear a french horn sound "cool." But their french horn player could really blow. 

They also mix a lot of humor into their show. Chuck Daellenbach, their tuba player, had a great sense of humor. His introduction to each selection was almost as great as the music. They played one song where they said it was a custom for the instrumentalists to locate themselves in different places in the auditorium. Chuck took his tuba and found an empty seat in the middle of the hall. After making several people stand up so he could squeeze in, and then having the lady in front of him hold his music, he played the song flawlessly.

We also found out that their trombone player, Gene Watts, is a native of Sedalia and a graduate of Mizzou.  Recently he even received an honorary doctorate from Mizzou. So this concert was sort of a homecoming for him.

The group has been around since 1970 and Daellenbach and Watts are the two original members still part of the group. I had never heard of them before this concert, but I really enjoyed the show and would not mind having some of their music handy. So, if you ever get the chance to see them it would be well worth it.  Check out their website and listen to some of their selections.