Pure enjoyment: Peter Moore & Tredegar Band give the first recording of Simon Dobson’s concerto for Moore alongside works paying tribute to trombonists like Arthur Pryor, Don Lusher & Tommy Dorsey

Arthur Pryor, Gordon Langford, Phoebe Palmer Knapp, Erik William Gustav Leidzén, George Bassman, Simon Dobson, Philip Sparke; Peter Moore, Tredegar Band, Ian Porthouse; Chandos Records
Reviewed 28 March 2025

Trombonist Peter Moore joins forces with Tredegar Band for a disc showcasing works for trombone and brass band in a programme that mixes a diverse range of music with a sense of sheer enjoyment.

Trombonist Peter Moore gained international attention at the age of twelve when, in 2008, he became the youngest winner of the competition BBC Young Musician. His early involvement in the brass band culture in Northern England was crucial to his rapid development. His new album Shift on Chandos celebrates that life-long association with the Brass Band movement as he joins Ian Porthouse and Tredegar Band for a diverse programme that includes Gordon Langford’s Rhapsody (written for Don Lusher) and the world premier recording of Simon Dobson’s Shift– a trombone concerto written for Peter Moore, along with music paying tribute to other great trombonists including Arthur Pryor, who was a soloist with the Souza band, and Tommy Dorsey for whom George Bassman’s I’m Getting’ Sentimental Over You was a huge hit.

We begin with Arthur Pryor’s 1895 arrangement of Annie Laurie, here heard as a trombone solo arranged by Keith M Wilkinson. It is typical of its period, subjecting the melody to a variety of ornamental techniques. Moore plays with stylish aplomb, and perhaps a slight tongue in cheek, along with wonderfully enviable legato phrasing for the main melody. Whilst the band give fine support in a part I assume to have been written for piano. The later ornamental passages really made me smile, a perfect concert opener.

Then comes one of the more meatier pieces. Gordon Langford’s Rhapsody written in 1975. This was written for jazz and big-band trombonist Don Lusher to play with Black Dyke Mills Band. It was a commission from the National Brass Band Championships, but was perfectly tailored to Don Lusher’s style. Though Lusher was known for his jazz and big-band, he had come up through Salvation Army Bands before finding fame with the Ted Heath Band.

There is a certain period flavour to Langford’s writing for the brass band, it has something of a 1950s aura to it, but this is combined with the striking melodism of the solo part, here played with smooth tone and subtle vibrato by Moore, along with a hint of portamento. Moore sings beautifully when the music gets slower in the Siciliana in the middle but everything ends with a gloriously rambunctious finale. There is something delightfully uninhibited about this piece, it is not trying to be anything other than it is, and everyone here is having the time of their lives.

Next comes Simon Wood’s arrangement of Phoebe Palmer Knapp’s hymn, Blessed Assurance. This is gives Moore the chance to give us more of his beautifully suave legato line, seductive and striking, though as the arrangement develops Wood adds a bit more swing to the music too.

Swedish-born Erik William Gustav Leidzén emigrated to the USA in 1915 and there he worked extensively with the Salvation Army before moving towards writing and arranging in the secular world. His 1952 Concertino for Band and Trombone was written at the request of Maisie Ringham, the remarkable trombonist of the Hallé Orchestra. Ringham recorded it with the composer conducting in 1955, during Leidzén’s UK tour when he also heard his Sinfonietta for Brass Band used as the test piece at the British Open Championships.

I have to confess that Leidzén was a name that was new to me. His style has a certain glossy Americana to it, but at the opening his rhapsodic moments for the soloist are what grab you, but then we move into territory that might almost be Broadway Kurt Weill. It’s that sort of piece. Moore and the band clearly enjoy themselves but also play the music with style, creating just the right 1950s feel. After a final cadenza-like rhapsodic moment, the work ends fast and furious.

George Bassman’s 1932 ballad, I’m Gettin’ Sentimental over You, is synonymous with perhaps the most well-known trombonist of his time – Tommy Dorsey (1905 – 1956). It is here heard in an arrangement by Bill Geldard, and Moore’s vibrato-led seductive sound is very much to the fore here. Again, the whole just right in period.

Simon Dobson is Principal Conductor and arranger with the Parallax Orchestra and can also be found conducting the Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly Southbank Sinfonia) and the Heritage Orchestra, but he grew up in an enthusiastic brass band family. Shift was written for Peter Moore, who gave the first performance, on BBC Radio Three, at the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass, in 2012.

The work is in three movements. The first, ‘On frustration and confusion’ is vivid and vigorous, certainly a world away from traditional ‘well-made’ brass band music, but Dobson’s imaginative use of his forces never takes us out of the box. The first movement is full of colour and texture, with significant percussion and some brilliant moments. The second movement ‘On solitude and longing’ seems to begin with tuned percussion to the fore but over this Moore sings a line that, whilst tonal, seems to not quite settle with the background shimmering. The final movement’ On hope and momentum’ is fast and furious, with the soloists short sharp phrases picked up by the band, giving the movement a sense of unstoppable momentum, though in the middle things do slow down and a sleazy element creeps into the solo line, but the end is fast and furious for everyone. 

The disc then returns to Gordon Langford for his arrangement of the Spiritual, Nobody Knows the Trouble I See, again a chance to hear Moore’s beautiful sense of line and phrase, along with his gorgeous tonal control.

The disc ends with Philip Sparke’s Sambezi, the last movement of his 2007 trombone concerto which was originally written for trombone and wind band, and premiered by Olaf Ott, principal trombone of the Berlin Philharmonic. The work begins with Walton-esque colour and movement in the orchestra, before the soloist joins in to create a definitely Latin-American feel. Definitely full of colour and movement, and sheer fun.

There is much to enjoy on this disc from the diverse range of repertoire to the sense of enjoyment from all concerned, but what comes over strongly is Peter Moore’s fine sense of musicianship allied to superbly seductive tone. This is a trombonist you cannot tire of hearing.

Arthur Pryor (1869-1942), arranged Keith M Wilkinson (born 1947) – Annie Laurie (1895) [5:01]
Gordon Langford (1930-2017) – Rhapsody for trombone (1975) [13:33]
Phoebe Palmer Knapp (1839-1908), arranged Simon Wood – Blessed Assurance (1873) [4:54]
Erik William Gustav Leidzén (1894-1962) – Concertino for band and trombone (1952) [8:22]
George Bassman (1914-1997), arranged Bill Geldard (1929-2023) – I’m getting sentimental over you 1932) [4:43]
Simon Dobson (born 1981) – Shift (Trombone Concerto No. 1) (c.2012) [17:55]
Traditional, arranged Gordon Langford – Nobody knows the trouble I see [5:09]
Philip Sparke (born 1951) – Sambezi (c.2007) [7:01]
Peter Moore (trombone)
Tredegar Band
Ian Porthouse (conductor)
Recorded 26-29 September 2024, Jack Williams Hall, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire
CHANDOS CHSA5366 1CD [66:38]