Brass, Reeds, and Percussion: January 6, 2024

Wind-band music has a long history of being popular music. So this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with a big hit from 1936: “The Whistler’s Mother-in-Law.” This song was written by Larry Wagner, a trumpet player and big-band arranger born in 1907 in Ashland, Oregon. After graduating from high school, Wagner attended the University of Oregon to major in journalism, but dropped out to play in a big band in the northwest. During this period, he took a correspondence course in arranging. Eventually, he moved to New York City and worked with Paul Whiteman and Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra.

1. Whistler's Mother-in-Law
   Composer:  Larry Wagner (1907-2002) & Bert Stevens
   Performer:  Frankie Carle & His Orchestra
   Album:  Frankie Carle & His Orchestra: 1944-1946
     
2. Shake It and Break It
   Composer:  Friscoe Lou Chicha & H. Quaill Clarke
   Performer:  Sidney Bechet & His Band
   Album:  Sidney Bechet, Vol. 3, 1938-1941
     
3. Sing, Sing, Sing (1936)
   Composer:  Louis Prima (1910-1978)
   Performer:  Philharmonic Wind Orchestra
   Album:  Movie and Light Music Highlights
     
4. Concerto and Alleluja (BWV 142)
   Composer:  J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
   Performer:  Empire Brass
   Album:  Bach Festival for Brass and Organ
     
5. Procession of the Sardar (1894)
   Composer:  Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935)
   Performer:  Royal Belgian Navy Band
   Album:  Spanish Trilogy
     
6. Festive Overture (1963)
   Composer:  Alfred Reed (1921-2005)
   Performer:  Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
   Album:  Overtures 2
     
7. Overture to "Alfonso und Estrella" (1822)
   Composer:  Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
   Performer:  Linos Ensemble
   Album:  Alfonso und Estrella
     
8. March and Finale to "Alfonso und Estrella"
   Composer:  Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
   Performer:  Linos Ensemble
   Album:  Alfonso und Estrella
     
9. Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak
   Composer:  Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
   Performer:  Dallas Wind Symphony
   Album:  Trittico
     
10. Future Nostalgia
    Composer:  Naoya Wada (1986- )
    Performer:  Ad Hoc Wind Orchestra
    Album:  Falcon of Egypt
      
11. Norwegian National Anthem (Yes, We Love This Country)
    Composer:  Rikard Nordraak (1842-1866)
    Performer:  Band of the Repubican Guard
    Album:  European National Anthems