Fire This Time

Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy: Lester Bowie, E.J. Allen, Gerald Brazel, Tony Barrero (trumpet); Frank Lacy, Louis Bonilla (trombone); Vincent Chancey (French horn); Bob Stewart (tuba); Vinnie Johnson (drums); Famoudou Don Moye (percussion).
Recorded live at the Moonwalker Club, Aarburg, Switzerland on May 1, 1992. Includes liner notes by Lester Bowie.
Personnel: E.J. Allen, Gerald Brazel, Lester Bowie, Tony Barrero, Gerald Brazel (trumpet); Vincent Chancey (French horn); Louis Bonilla, Frank Lacy, Bonilla (trombone); Bob Stewart (tuba); Vinnie Johnson (drums); Famoudou Don Moye (percussion).
Recording information: The Moonwalker Club, Aarburg, Switzerland (05/01/1992).
Photographer: Deborah Bowie.
This warm and blistering set by Lester Bowie's 10-piece Brass Fantasy--four trumpets, two trombones, one French horn, a tuba, and two sets of percussion--was recorded live in Switzerland in 1992. The compositions, which are punctuated with graceful, occasionally humorous solos, touch on the full breadth of Bowie's and the ensemble's interests and skills. For instance, a pair of songs by Michael Jackson shows the ensemble's interest in contemporary pop. There're also Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Three for the Festival" and Jimmie Lunceford's "Siesta for the Fiesta." "For Louis," by Phillip Wilson (to whom the album is dedicated) is another well-suited and finely executed piece. The show closes with "The Great Pretender," one of Brass Fantasy's signature numbers.