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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
      
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1951, John moved to Huntsville in 1975, where he worked for a communications training firm. From 1997 to 2022, John worked for the Lanier Ford law firm. During his tenure, He served as Lanier Ford's law librarian, marketing specialist, trainer, and professional recruiter. While in college and law school, John worked in professional radio in Starkville and Oxford, Mississippi.