Velvet

The literature for solo tuba is at best, scant. The stereotypical image of the unwieldy instrument emitting sepulchral sounds is difficult to dismiss. Until now. Velvet Brown is professor of tuba at the Bowling Green State University in Ohio and this recital recording, simply titled VELVET is a stunner. Brown is accompanied by pianist Roberto Arosio in a program that presents works both familiar and obscure. Brown opens the recital with the "Sonatine pour tuba et piano" by contemporary French composer Jacques Casterede. The work is filled with Poulenc-like charm and is a showcase for Brown's superb legato playing, especially in the dreamy second movement. The recording also shows off Brown's skill as an arranger with her settings of music by Handel and Herbert L. Clarke. Most memorable are her arrangements for tuba and trombone quartet of 'Four Negro Spirituals.' The interplay of brass instruments is thrilling and Brown plays the melody line with astounding skill and dexterity.