Emerald Brass Quintet reimagine and rearrange their favorites at Harker Concert Series
Emerald Brass Quintet’s clever and loving renditions of many of its favorite works were well received by the audience at the Patil Theater at the second event of the 2021-22 Harker Concert Series season.
For the first portion of the show, the group performed the entirety of its 2020 album, “Danzon,” which featured the works of a wide range of composers reimagined and rearranged for brass instruments. Several pieces featured the accompaniment of drummer and percussionist Jim Kassis, including Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s lively and dramatic “Libertango,” the concert’s leadoff number.
Other pre-intermission highlights were the quintet’s rendition of Arturo Marquez’s “Danzon No. 2,” which fused styles from Mexico, Cuba and Argentina, and Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” which was arranged by Emerald Brass trombonist Chris Van Hof from Ravel’s original piano composition.
Following the intermission, the group capped off its official evening repertoire by returning to Piazzolla with its version of “Meditango,” which prominently featured the talents of each member of the group. They then offered a preview of what’s in store for their next recording, which will feature sounds from – and those inspired by – the German region of Bavaria. One of these was the popular drinking song, “Ein Prosit,” which led with the group singing the tune’s refrain.
For a brief encore, Emerald Brass performed a medley it put together as a fun experiment, which wove in melodies from famous pop songs, concluding with the hook from the Britney Spears hit “Toxic.”
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