Repertoire

Can jazz performance be taught?

A profile of Charlie Shoemake

By Thomas Stevens

Empire Brass Quintet

Portrait in brief

From New York to Boston, five brass players built a chamber music identity rooted in Ewald, early music and a string-quartet approach to ensemble sound.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Reflections on the tuba, teaching and music

By Roger Bobo

Stopping technique in the Mozart horn concertos

By Thomas Müller

Philip Jones

Interview

From South London bands to the Philharmonia, Philip Jones recalls his musical upbringing, orchestral life and the rise of brass ensembles in post-war Britain.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

The Trumpet in the Works of Jean-Philippe Rameau

From court entertainments to operatic dances, Rameau’s trumpet writing reveals uncommon technical demands and a broader palette of Baroque brass practice.

By Albert Hiller

Part 2

Did Bach write the "corne da caccia" part in the B minor Mass for Gottfried Reiche?

By Peter Damm

A major chamber music work for brass?

Quintet, by Peter Maxwell Davies

A BBC studio session turns Maxwell Davies’s brass quintet into a test of virtuosity, balance and whether brass could claim a new place in chamber music.

By Thomas Aitken

Part 4

The art of chamber music

Rehearsal technique of Spanish Brass Luur Metalls

By Spanish Brass Luur Metalls

Russian music and musicians before 1700

with special regard to Brass Music

Overview of Russian music and musicians before 1700, exploring early traditions, influences and the role of brass instruments.

By Walter Salmen

Rediscovered trumpet fanfares

By Friedrich Anzenberger

Which Horn for which Music?

Article discussing the choice of horn according to repertoire, comparing instruments, sound ideals and stylistic requirements.

By Hermann Baumann

Part 1

The trombone in Maurice Ravel's Bolero

How should Boléro’s trombone solo be played? After 100 performances, Jean Douay challenges conventions and argues for a more supple, controlled approach.

By Jean Douay

The Trombone in the Sacred Works of W. A. Mozart

In Mozart’s sacred music, the trombone moved beyond choral reinforcement to striking solo roles that preserve the sound and practice of eighteenth-century Salzburg.

By Benny Sluchin

Part 1

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

Before Louis Armstrong became the defining figure, jazz already carried competing traditions of tone, style and technique shaped by cornet players across New Orleans and beyond.

By Michel Laplace

Possibilities for development of brass instruments (1967)

Experimental study by Vinko Globokar on extended techniques for brass instruments, covering microtonality, voice-instrument interaction and new sound production methods.

By Vinko Globokar

Part 2

French cornet methods published before Arban's Complete Grand Method for Cornet and Saxhorn

By Friedrich Anzenberger

Part 3

The influence of Berlioz

on contemporary 19th Century use of brass instruments

By Ernest H. Gross

Unknown Treasures for Trumpet Ensembles

Processional Music from 18th century Bavaria

Forgotten Bavarian monastery archives preserve hundreds of ceremonial trumpet works, where local tradition and practical performance survived long after their cultural world disappeared.

By Albert Hiller

Part 1

Jazz Improvisation

Major scalem chord-scale relationship

By Charlie Shoemake

Part 1

The Alto Trombone

In the 18th Century Sacred Chamber Music from the Abbeys of Göttweig and Melk, Austria

By J. Richard Raum

Yes! We have no repertoire!

By Thomas Stevens

From the pen of Roger Bobo

A bold statement from Roger Bobo: limiting yourself to your instrument’s repertoire is musical imprisonment — true musicianship begins beyond boundaries.

By Roger Bobo

Some observation prompted by H. Baumann: Which Horn for which Music

Commentary responding to H. Baumann’s article (BB 3), offering critical observations and contributing to the ongoing debate on horn playing.

By Harold Meek