A stunning set from Yorkshire Wolds Versatile Brass at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre: Saturday 12th October 2024.
“We’d like to give you the experience of being in the middle of a brass band playing a hymn.” So cornetist Craig Gaskell introduces ‘Amazing Grace’ as the members of this quintet position themselves around the SJT’s McCarthy auditorium to create a unique ‘surround sound’ experience.
The Yorkshire Wolds Versatile Brass aim to communicate the widest experience of the brass world where virtuosity, tradition, versatility and emotion combine – all of which are amply on show tonight with plenty of humour thrown in for good measure. Their repertoire this evening takes in such variety as Gershwin, W C Handy, and David Bowie as well as the aforementioned hymn, and is rapturously received by the audience who appear to be a blend of brass music fans, young brass players picking up tips, and folks who just came to be entertained by five excellent musicians.
Although all the quintet are working non-stop throughout, each is given at least one feature: Tim Priestley – the group’s resident teller of tall tales – steps out from holding down the bottom end with the unlikely choice of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’ with which to demonstrate the often overlooked potential subtlety of the tuba. Although not traditionally part of a larger brass band, Mark Sykes showcases the sonorous tones of the French horn on ‘Summertime’, his performance belying that it’s a notoriously tricky instrument to master – in his hands it appears as relaxing an activity as sipping a cool drink in the titular season. Craig Gaskell doesn’t restrict himself to cornet and, as well as a fine Louis Armstrong tribute, he delights the audience with the Post Horn Galop played on a genuine hunting horn (with a little crowd participation as the hounds).
Such is the physical demand of playing at this level, brass concerts sometimes work in reverse to regular musical entertainment, with the showstopping playing front-loaded while players lips are still fresh. This is the case with Richard Wood’s dazzling solos in his own arrangement of ‘My Grandfather’s Clock’ – the second tune in, which if anything, comes just a little too early in the performance to truly take in how brilliant it is. But it’s not as if the standard drops from therein, not least his note-perfect rendition of the iconic ‘Penny Lane’ piccolo trumpet solo in a Beatles medley featured in the second half. This is musicianship of the highest order.
Continuing the strong representation of jazz-influenced music from the Southern states of America in tonight’s performance, trombonist Tony Turner uses the slide and glissando of the trombone to atmospheric effect in a rendition of ‘Georgia On My Mind’. Tony also arranges most of the group’s material and the concert is a real showcase of his talent, with arrangements regularly bringing out new nuances of familiar themes in inventive settings that make the most of the talent provided by the individual players.
Anybody who appreciates the extraordinary combination of dedication, physical effort and artistic endeavour on display here can’t fail to be impressed and hugely entertained by this ensemble. There’s rumour this might become an annual gig in Scarborough – let’s hope so.
