The Dallas Brass is an American brass quintet started by Michael Levine in 1983. [1] Its repertoire contains patriotic music, classical, and romantic, among others. [1]
The seven members of the group include Michael D. Levine (director), Brian Neal (trumpet), Luis Cardenaw (trumpet), Juan Berrios (horn), John Wasson (trombone), Paul Carlson (tuba), and Craig Hill (percussion). [2]
The Dallas Brass has performed for Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. The group has also made appearances with Cincinnati Pops, New York Pops, at Carnegie Hall, and around Europe. The Dallas Brass frequently travels to public schools to present clinics to students as well as work with them on a selection of music. [2]
Six recordings of the Dallas Brass have been released: Debut, Dallas Brass II, A Merry Christmas with Brass, Windborne, Nutcracker, and American Musical Journey. [2]
Embouchure or lipping is the use of the lips, facial muscles, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument. This includes shaping the lips to the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument or the mouthpiece of a brass instrument. The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche, 'mouth'. Proper embouchure allows instrumentalists to play their instrument at its full range with a full, clear tone and without strain or damage to their muscles.
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Other music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo-wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds, and percussion.
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent, his versatility on several instruments, and his ability to play in a high register.
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Herb Alpert is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, five of which became No. 1 albums; he has scored 14 platinum albums and 15 gold albums. Alpert is the only musician to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist.
Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s, until her eventual dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. She later has focused on recording and the concert stage. After a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in November 2016, and again in May 2024.
A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone. Musicians in a brass quintet may often play multiple instruments. Trumpet players for instance may double on piccolo trumpets and flugelhorns. There can be variation in instrumentation depending on the type of quintet. In some quintets, the horn is replaced by an additional trombone. Euphonium may also be substituted for the trombone part. While the tuba is considered a standard, the range and style of many pieces lend themselves to being played with bass trombone as the lowest-pitched instrument. Additionally, some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly the snare drum, tambourine, or timpani.
Christopher Stephen Botti is an American trumpeter and composer.
Adam Noah Levine is an American singer and musician who serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and sole continuous member of the pop rock band Maroon 5.
Adolph Sylvester "Bud" Herseth was principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1948 until 2001, and served as principal trumpet emeritus from 2001 until his retirement in 2004.
Michael A. Levine is an American composer, music producer and screenwriter born in Japan and currently based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his work in film and television.
Andy Diagram is a British musician and trumpet player. He has worked with the instrument in a variety of bands and contexts ranging from pop and rock to experimental jazz, art rock and dance music. He is best known for his work with James, with Spaceheads and with the Pere Ubu singer David Thomas.
"Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album Chicago 17, with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was prevented from charting higher by "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. "Hard Habit to Break" also peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The lyrics of the song appear to describe a man having a hard time getting over a significant other getting away after he took her for granted and she left him for someone else. Overseas it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.
Greg London is an American singer, entertainer and impressionist. After a solo hit show in London's West End, he enjoyed a lengthy residency in Reno, Nevada before announcing his move to the Las Vegas Strip in mid-2010.
Jeff Tyzik is an American conductor, arranger, and trumpeter. He has recorded jazz albums as a soloist and arranged pop and jazz music for orchestras.
Danny Davis was an American country music band leader, trumpet player, vocalist and producer, best known as the founder and leader of the Nashville Brass. He is also famous for performing the English theme song of the anime Speed Racer.
Balkan brass, popularly known by the Serbian name Truba, is a distinctive style of music originating in the Balkan region as a fusion between military music and folk music. In recent years, it has become popular in a techno-synth fusion throughout Europe, and in pop music in the Anglo-American sphere and throughout the world. Songs like Worth It by Fifth Harmony and Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo have brought the style to a new audience. In traditional form, it is popular throughout the Balkans, especially in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania, although the turbo-folk variety attracts larger audiences. The energetic and fast beats encourage dance and are egalitarian, often resulting in participation by the entire audience; this unpretentious relationship with audiences, highly charged energy and loud and joyful performances by highly skilled musicians has contributed to its successes. Fans of bands inspired by Balkan bands, such as Gogol Bordello, often state that it is a type of music better experienced than listened to.
The University of North Florida School of Music is the music department of the University of North Florida, and one of the institution's flagship programs. Part of UNF's College of Arts and Sciences, it offers seven programs of study, the most noted of which is the jazz studies program, founded by the jazz euphonium player Rich Matteson in 1987. The department has several ensembles, including the Jazz Ensemble 1, which has performed at jazz festivals across the United States and internationally and has won several awards and been recognized in Down Beat Magazine, Cadence, and the Jazz Times.
The Soul Rebels are an eight-piece New Orleans based brass ensemble that incorporate elements of soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework.
"Dame" is a song written by Alejandro Lerner and Kiko Cibrian and performed by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. It was released as the lead single from his eleventh studio album Nada Es Igual... on 15 July 1996 to radio stations. "Dame" was recorded at the Record Plant studio in Los Angeles, California. The song incorporates R&B and hip-hop influences. The music video for "Dame" was directed by Marcus Nispel and filmed at the Mojave Desert in California and was nominated Video of the Year. It received mixed reactions from music critics who felt that the track sounded too similar to his previous pop recordings. "Dame" peaked at number two and one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Songs charts in the United States and received a BMI Latin Award in 1998.