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Life Abundant Kenneth DOWNIE Trumpet Call [5.27] Healing Waters [5.00] John LARSSON Someone Cares (arr. Ray Steadman-Allen) [3.51] Georg Philipp TELEMANN
Trumpet Concerto in D (arr. RP Block) [7.23]* Edward GREGSON Before The Cross [3.41] Erik LEIDZEN Wondrous Day [6.28] Leonard BALLANTINE Don't Doubt Him Now (arr.
Craig Woodland) [3.27] Robert REDHEAD Life Abundant [10.55] Ivor BOSANKO Time and Eternity [6.09]^ Kenny BAKER Virtuosity (arr. Jack Peberdy) [4.21] Marc Antoine CHARPENTIER
Prelude to Te Deum (arr. P White)[1.27]*
Philip Cobb (cornet and trumpet),
Benjamin Horden (organ)*, Robert Childs (euphonium)^,
Cory Band/Dr Stephen Cobb.
rec. 15-16 June 2007, Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, Aberdare;
16 July 2007, St. Mary's and All Saints, Fotheringhay.
DDD EGON
SFZ140 [59:33]
The
19 year old Philip Cobb has an impressive pedigree in brass. His
father is Dr Stephen Cobb, who conducts the Cory Band on
this recording and is better known as the Bandmaster of
the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army (the
ISB). Like his father and grandfather before him, Philip
plays cornet in the ISB. The booklet notes reveal that
he is not just an Army musician, though – he is making
music his career. He was principal cornet of the National
Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and is currently studying
trumpet at London's Guildhall School with the LPO’s Paul
Beniston and Alison Balsom.
Much
is naturally expected from Philip Cobb's debut solo album. Thankfully,
much is delivered.
Most
of the tracks on this disc are Salvation Army occasional
works which evoke moods related to the hymn tunes on which
they are based. These pieces suit Cobb's sweet, smooth
tone and soft-tongued attack and phrasing – or perhaps
his own sound has grown to suit this style of music over
the years. Either way, they showcase his artistry to best
advantage. The pieces by Edward Gregson and Kenneth Downie
in particular are wonderful. Each of these tracks features
not only beautiful melodic writing for the soloist, sensitively
delivered, but also a warm and cleverly layered brass band
sonority underpinning the solo line. Craig Woodland's
arrangement of Ballentine's Don't Doubt Him Now is
similarly deft and quite lovely.
The
Bandmaster of the Cory Band, having relinquished the podium
to the soloist's father, takes up his euphonium to join
Cobb in duet in Ivor Bosanko's Time and Eternity. This
piece is glorious, with a warm sonority suffusing the band
as euphonium and cornet exchange phrases and comment on
one another. Cobb manages to match the warmth of tone
and effortless technique of his partner here. That statement
in itself is high praise indeed.
Erik
Leidzen's Wondrous Day is an old-fashioned Army
showpiece, opening with a swaggering march and shifting
into an outdoorsy, fairground trio as Leidzen varies his
gospel song theme. The booklet notes reveal that this
piece is something of a family heirloom, having been written
for and famously recorded by Philip's grandfather, Roland
Cobb, and frequently played by his father Stephen. Philip
Cobb plays it with warm affection, nimbly negotiating its
technical challenges.
As
good as Wondrous Day and the other Army pieces are,
Robert Redhead's Life Abundant is unquestionably
the highlight of the disc, as well as being its title track. More
a tone poem for soloist and band than a traditional solo,
the piece begins with patterns on a single repeated note
from the soloist, before Redhead begins to build an accompaniment. The
piece shifts mood continuously, from mystery to light swing,
from bluesy writing to triumphant statement. The impossibly
high final note wavers slightly in pitch and there is a
barely audible recording glitch just before the 8 minute
mark, but on the whole this is a very impressive performance,
with Cobb's understated artistry always at the service
of the melody and treating the huge technical challenges
accordingly.
Among
all of these Army numbers there is a single secular showpiece,
for which Cobb swaps his cornet for a trumpet. Virtuosity is
a carnival romp that aims to, and succeeds in, dazzling
with flashy technique. It may not be long, but it crams
a lot of notes into a short space of time and tests the
soloist with every technical trick in the book. This is
Cobb's current party piece, and one of two solos he played
at the Salvation Army's 2007 Gospel Arts Concert in the
Royal Albert Hall. Cobb flies through the piece with confidence,
slowing down to savour the jazzy interlude before pushing
through to the final flourish.
Virtuosity and
the various Army numbers are very successful and hugely
enjoyable. I am less convinced, though, by Cobb's forays
into mainstream “classical” repertoire. Cobb's playing
in the Telemann trumpet concerto has a limpid beauty, but
his tone is unvaried over the four movements, making an
otherwise creditable performance sound dull. The same
bland, if slightly brighter, beauty of tone is to be found
in the Charpentier item that closes the disc, though contrast
is less important in the shorter work. These pieces, though
not particularly difficult to play, are in a sense harder
to bring off than the other works on the album and require
greater subtlety. This Cobb will acquire with time. For
now, minor reservations notwithstanding, he has given us
a very fine debut album featuring playing of the highest
standard.
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