Tour de Force

The New York Staff Band
Staff Bandmaster Ronald Waiksnoris
SP&S: CD-SPS175
Total Playing Time: 71.39

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In the Spring of 2003, The New York Staff Band visited the sunny shores of England and Scotland and thankfully SP & S had the inspiration to record their musical highlights.

An appropriate start to the CD is "Endless Praise" by William Himes. This is a vibrant arrangement of the traditional piece Ode to Joy. The playing here is enthusiastic and confident and sets the tone for the whole CD.

A number of soloists are presented for the listener, and each is confident and impressive. Less than impressive however are the sleeve notes accompanying the CD. When an overseas CD is on the market, I enjoy learning a little about the band and their members. On this occasion, I would have liked more information about each of the soloists. The only featured soloist in the notes is their Euphonium star Aaron VanderWeele, who provides an incredible performance of Stephen bulla's "Air ‘N' Variations". Special attention though should also be given to Andrew Baker playing "Tuba Tapestry" written by Michael Brand, and Burt Mason on Trombone playing Peter Graham's "The Name". The featured trumpet player on this disk is Derek Lance and he played a traditional Salvation Army item entitled "The Challenge" by Eric Ball.

The variety of this CD is its true selling point. It is difficult for any brass band to have the ability to sing, swing and just be down right groovy. All this as well as provide serious works such as Gustav Holst's "First Suite in Eb". I'm afraid to say that in the non Salvation Army world, that is almost impossible to find, let alone attempted. The New York Staff Band does it all, and if good singing sets your nerve endings tingling, then the folk spiritual "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" sung by the band's chorus is the one for you.

Another unusual, but welcome item on this CD is the trumpet ensemble playing the jazzy "Great Day Comin'" arranged cleverly by Terry Everson. This number displays the virtuosity of all six trumpet soloists.

The final item was written especially for this tour and is titled "The Cry of the Warriors" by Ralph E. Pearce. This is a substantial work of around 11 minutes, which features a number of tunes including "Men of Harlech". (The composer has a Welsh connection, as he was once a music teacher in Tredegar) This is a great new piece and a testament to the quality of music that arises from the Salvation Army in America. I hope other bands will embrace this piece and give it the playing time it deserves.

The only track that causes a little confusion is the track entitled "Welcome to the Gospel Arts Festival RAH" where the compere introduces the band to stage. Despite the prestigious occasion and its sentimentality, it was a little unnecessary and may have been more appropriate had the compare actually mentioned the Royal Albert Hall.

Having heard a number of American bands, both here and in their home territory, I must comment on their ability to provide a highness of spirit and atmosphere that is sometimes lacking elsewhere around the banding globe. They look and sound like they enjoy themselves, take pride in what they do and genuinely have fun on stage. That passion rubs off on the audience and subsequently shows through on recordings like this.

Live CD's are dangerous for the best of bands, but this is a marvellous representative. As with any live CD, clips and slips are inevitable, but in this case they are relatively rare and completely forgivable. If you are a brass band enthusiastic and CD collector this is the one for you.

Bravo to the New York Staff Band and B & H Sound Services for providing a quality live CD recording.

Marieka Gray

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