Listen & tracks

1 of 13 tracks have a preview · 9 works · 57:19

1 Music for Tubes and Sticks Paul Sarcich 12:14
2 New Orleans Eugène Bozza 6:08
3 Pièce Lyrique Robert Clérisse 5:41
4 Sonata for Two Trombones Lawrence Whiffin 1st Movement 7:44
5 Maninya IV Ross Edwards 10:55
6 Don't Get Around Much Anymore Duke Ellington 2:30
7 I've Got a Crush on You George Gershwin 2:43
8 Nobody's Heart Belongs To Me Richard Rodgers 2:45
9 Tropical Funk John Barrett 6:39

From Oz comps to big band — WindSong captures them all.

It is unusual to combine so many eclectic styles featuring bass trombone on one disc. "It really does show off the instrument," said trombonist Eric Klay.

That range is heard in Tropical Funk, with the improvisational skills of saxophonist John Barrett, set beside new Australian works: Ross Edwards' Maninya IV, Lawrence Whiffin's Sonata for Two Trombones, and Paul Sarcich's Music for Tubes and Sticks.

Arrangements of Ellington's Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Gershwin's I've Got a Crush on You, and Richard Rodgers' Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me complete the programme.

Klay had been principal bass trombone with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 1977, and worked on concerts, cabaret, film scores and recordings for artists including John Farnham, Debra Byrne, Anthony Warlow, Sammy Davis Jnr., and Frank Sinatra.

In 1986 he commissioned and gave the first performance of Paul Sarcich's Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra.

Reviews

I'd give the performance at least four stars.

— Hugo Magliocco, International Trombone Association Journal

WindSong has a varied program that amply demonstrates [Klay's] versatility, his artistry and professionalism.

— Alan Mewett, Former principal bass trombone, Sydney S.O.

Artists

Eric Klay

bass trombone, tenor trombone

Eric Klay has been the Principal Bass Trombone of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 1977. Prior to this appointment he performed with the Elizabethan Trust Mlebourne Orchestra from 1976 - 77. He studied with Mr Roger Davies at The University of Melbourns, Faculty of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree.

Eugène Bozza

composer

Eugène Bozza (1905–1991) was a French composer and violinist, best known for a large body of chamber music for wind instruments. His larger works include symphonies, operas and ballets, though these are seldom performed outside France.

Ross Edwards

composer

One of Australia's best known and most performed composers, Ross Edwards lives and works in Sydney. His commitment to music as a positive and regenerative force has led him to explore beyond the confines of Western art music.

Duke Ellington

composer

Duke Ellington wrote jazz that slips past easy labels: three-minute standards thick with colour, growl and hush, and longer suites built for the voices of a big band. His orchestra was the instrument; the songs still own the night.

George Gershwin

composer

George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose music spanned popular song, Broadway and the classical concert hall, leaving melodies that remain widely known.

Richard Rodgers

composer

Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) was an American composer of musical theatre whose songs became standards of the twentieth-century stage and screen. Over five decades he wrote more than nine hundred songs and dozens of Broadway musicals.

Paul Sarcich

composer

Paul Sarcich is a New Zealand-born composer and percussionist whose music is marked by rhythmic drive, dramatic flair and a practical ear for what performers need.

Lawrence Whiffin

composer

Lawrence Whiffin (1930–2012) was a Melbourne-born composer, pianist and teacher. After years abroad he returned to Australia as Senior Tutor at La Trobe University, where teaching harmony and analysis also freed him to write more concert music.

John Barrett

composer

John Barrett brings a warm, improvising saxophone voice to Melbourne sessions and the World Rhythm Band, writing pieces that swing from tropical funk to carillon colour with the same easy fluency across reeds, didjeridu and keys.

Robert Clérisse

composer

Damien Collis

composer

Peter De Visser

composer

Peter De Visser is an arranger whose work appears on Australian brass recordings.

Frank De Vol

composer

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

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$25.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

Eric Klay · bass trombone, tenor trombone
Peter Neville · marimba · track 5
Simone De Haan · tenor trombone · tracks 1 and 4
Robert Cossom · percussion, vibraphone · tracks 1 and 8
John Arcaro · percussion · track 1
Harry Wilson · didjeridu · track 1
John Barrett · didjeridu, soprano saxophone, synthesisers · tracks 1 and 9
Joan Pollock · director · track 1
Catherine Friend · piano · tracks 2 and 3
Alan Bray · bass clarinet · track 5
David Allardice · piano · tracks 6–8
Gary Costello · acoustic bass · tracks 6–8
Ron Sandilands · drums · tracks 6–8
Bob Johnson · lead trombone · track 6

Technical credits

Producer Eric Klay
Recording Engineer Jim Atkins (track 5)
Martin Wright (tracks 2 and 3)
Robin Gray (tracks 1, 4, 6–9)
Venue ABC Studios, Melbourne (track 5)
Allan Eaton Studios (tracks 1, 4, 6–9)
Move Records Studio (tracks 2 and 3)
Credit Brent Ottley (tracks 2 and 3)
Eric Klay
Martin Wright
Paul Wright
Ron Layton