The Chamberlain Brass featuring Terrell Stafford: Cocktail Hour

What sets the Chamberlain Brass from other similar outfits like The Canadian Brass is that the team here handles things with a bit more jazz and rhythm. The group consists of  Terry Szor/tp, Franco Finstad/tp, Patty Schmitt/fh, Jayan Nandagopan/tb, Kyle Turner/tuba and MarkFerber/dr along with guest soloist Terrell Stafford/tp for the first third of songs. The tunes themselves are wonderfully diverse, mixing cabaret-esque moods as on “Beyond the Sea” to graceful harmonies as displayed on “Moonlight Serenade” and even giving a hint of Disney during “Unforgettable” and “Over the Rainbow.” The tuba bass beat is irresistible on Miles Davis’ “So What” and “Four” while Stafford supplies some rich trumpet work. A New Orleans groove is incessantly fun on “Mo’ Better Blues” and the band supplies almost Mariachi-like support on the creative reading of “Blue Bossa.” Stafford adds extra oomph to the tunes he’s one, but the other members are by no means slackers. This is quite creative and catchy without sounding gimmicky.

www.thechamberlainbrass.com

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