Customer Reviews

Wanted-The Bassoon Brothers

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Four thumbs up because (a) this is a great recording and (b) that is the number of those digits that a person really ought to have to play the bassoon. I knew Mark Eubanks back in the '60's, as he was beginning to become the truly great bassoonist and TRULY weird guy he is today. Happily, both traits have blossomed in this recording. Amazingly, he found 3 equally talented accomplices to join him! If you are looking (listening) for an unusual, strange, amusing, highly professional and thoroughly enjoyable musical experience, you should get this CD, have friends over, pour some wine, try to be very quiet and listen to "Wanted - The Bassoon Brothers". If you ever get the chance, see them in person. They're great!

Wanted- The Bassoon Brothers is hands down our entire family's favorite CD. (Our second favorite is Captured- The Bassoon Brothers.) After hearing this CD we are all bassoon enthusiasts and Bassoon Bros. devoted fans. My 11 year old, inspired by the Bassoon Brothers, is now a bassoonist with a youth symphony orchestra. The Bassoon Brothers' level of skill and musicianship is the highest, their selections are witty, their arrangements are wonderful, and the CD is a gem! The "Brothers" raise up their bassoons celebrating the instrument's solo and small ensemble capabilities, demonstrating its elegant, eloquent, and expressive voice. Great listening! Great entertainment!

I like bassoon quartets and have a tendency to buy all bassoon quartet records I see. Luckily for my wallet I don't see that many. The Bassoon Brothers CD is not my favourite bassoon quartet recording, in fact it's my least favourite but despite that it's not that bad and some of the tracks are actually quite good.

So, what's bad? Some of the songs are played too "rough". I'm especially thinking of Gounod's Funeral March and Anderson's Buglers Holiday, which I've heard done wonderfully elsewhere. Bugler's Holiday is almost downight bad. I generally think they could have gained from a bit more polished playing style.

But some tracks are well played: Alexanders Ragtime Band has a nice thing going and Dubois' Scherzo as well. And I like the Dragoons from Carmen...

Conclusion: I won't recommend this to a person who's never heard a bassoon quartet. I'll play them United Sounds of Bassoon or the Caliban Quartet instead to get them hooked. But this CD can be worth its money too. So I give it three stars out of five.

The bassoon. It rhymes with "buffoon". Need one say more? Apparently the Bassoon Brothers think so! I whole-heartedly agree! Such things have been done with the bassoon on this album that one could scarcely imagine a decade ago. This group has definitely pushed the state of the art of bassoon playing with this release. If you own only one album of bassoon music, then move over that old copy of "Bassoon Bon-Bons", and make room for "Wanted - The Bassoon Brothers".

The bassoon is usually thought of as only slightly less comical than the trombone and enjoyed mostly by those infinitely more anally retentive. Its unique sound has no pretenders. So, I love both it and this CD. In fact, I ended up with two copies, so I offered the other, gratis, to the bassoon professor at a local, very famous music college here in Tokyo. He required that I submit a written list of pieces on it, which he would then evaluate and make a decision as to whether it would merit his acceptance. Uh huh. A new twist on THAT retentive. Anyway, "Wanted" is funny, it often swings, it's sometimes gets a bit outside, it occasionally gets down with some stink on it, and it's thoroughly creative.

I played bassoon for 11 or so years. I wish I'd had an album such as this one back then; I might have kept up with it. The Bassoon Brothers are quite talented, as their recording shows, and the arrangements imaginitive and often amusing. They take a few liberties with some well-known pieces, so if you're a die-hard classical purist, this album may not be for you.

If you're a bassoonist yourself, and you're looking for a fresh sound for our instrument, I heartily recommend this album. I enjoyed it immensely. Who knew bassoons could be so cool?

A fun,enjoyable, extraordinarily artistic performance! These are incredible musicians who make the bassoon come alive! I can't praise this album enough nor can I praise the musicality of Mark Eubanks enough. He and his colleagues need to be heard to be believed! Buy this CD.

Forced to learn the bassoon without much of an idea of how it sounded, it was a drag, I quit when the contrabass clarinet became available by graduation. The Bassoon Brothers might have given me a role model, that, had I had it in high school, might have given me the drive to continue. While some may have thought this a low brow recording, it gives the uninitiated an idea of how the horn can sing. The horn is quirky, the disc is too. The selections begin with the funeral march that we have learned to associate with Alfred Hitchcock and take us to new lands, fun and melodious (usually). This disc should be required listening of all beginning bassoonists. I can't wait for their next album.

Uma das características mais formidáveis do jazz é o seu senso de humor: sutil, sarcástico e, em diversas oportunidades, insuperável. Quem não lembra de Louis Armstrong ou Fats Waller ? Bem, eu não lembro bem deles não, mas lembro bem de um outro aspecto muito fascinate no jazz: a capacidade de utilizar qualquer instrumento para produzir música. Foi assim que rabisquei algumas linhas sobre o tocador de bassoon Michael Rabinowitz. Recordo que, na ocasião, fiquei surpreso com a sonoridade desse curioso instrumento, o tristonho e distante fagote. Pois bem, os músicos brancos também possuem lá o seu senso de humor. Alguns deles, provenientes da orquestra sinfônica Oregon, formaram o Bassoon Brothers, liderado por Mark Eubanks, instrumentista afeito ao improviso jazzístico. Eles assim se apresentam:

"The Bassoon Brothers have performed not only in concert, but also for wedding receptions, for the wedding of two bassoonists and for funerals. Hell, we'll play for anything if the money's right. The Bassoon Brothers call each other by the following nicknames (abbreviated) SDG, ODG, BDG, FDG. We call each other by other names too, but these can't be printed. We have learned that if we are enjoying ourselves (and can crack each other up) our audiences will enjoy us too. Unfortunately, some "serious" chamber music series have shunned us for this very reason. What's wrong with them?"

No disco Wanted encontramos um pouco de tudo: clássico, jazz, baladas, blues, marchas, sempre com criatividade, bom humor e excelentes performances. Além disso, contamos com a presença de Bonnie Fillmore Cox, a "sister solo" do grupo, eleita recentemente a mulher que possui o fagote mais bonito do mundo. Recomendo sem medo aos aventureiros.

In a day when apathy and mediocrity are precursers for genius I find "wanted" a refreshing escape into the realm of lyrical creativeness! NUF SAID!