💿 ALBUM REVIEW: Wayne Alpern – Varieties & Extravaganzas

Wayne Alpern's Varieties & Extravaganzas is a stylish stroll through music history. His 13th album, it's a diverse collection of original compositions and inventive arrangements for brass quintet recorded by the Times Square Brass Quintet. This gifted group of recent graduates from The Julliard School in NYC perform under the leadership of Robby Garrison, Co Principal Trumpet of the sarasota Orchestra accompanied by David Puchkoff, Principal Trumpet on NYC Ballet Orchestra and Addison Maye-Saxon, Principal trombone of the Symphony in C. Two newcomers to the group include include James Picarello on French Horn and Adolfo Monterroso on tuba.

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Available in Heavyweight Vinyl, CD, and Digital Formats.

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The Deep Dive

Opening with an adaption of Handel's Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No.1 Alpern has created a neo-Baroque creative recomposition of an 18th century work. Short and sweet, a cool, cleansing opener. A warm, muted, brassy arrangement of Richard Roger's Have You Seen Miss Jones? features Garrison and Puchkoff on trumpet playing a solid melody with Picarello and Maye-Saxon on counter pointe anchored by Monterroso. Interesting. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker gets a less than classical treatment with really precise yet not formal application. Making the song more accessible and relevant to non classical listeners, essential harmony elements were jostled with essential elements of rhythm for a playful result. Another Richard Rogers composition, The Lady Is A Tramp gives Monterroso a feature upfront and yields the melody to warm horn fragments rather than straight up melodic lead. The track becomes more interwoven and complex as it matures balancing between orchestral and jazz. Wrapping the release is Serenade, a finely woven, heavy brass fabric with each part having even weight. A welcome melody dominates the track but it's not focused on traditional trumpet lead. An interesting release with a lot of juice.

Watch: Wayne Alpern presents: "Have You Met Miss Jones?".

This release doesn't fit into any category that I can really define but lets call it orchestral big band. I think it has niche appeal and really quite creative. 

Bman's Verdict This isn't my run of the mill player with deep soulful vocal, intricate guitar, sax or trumpet dominated themes, but it is different from most and definitely worth a listen.

Label: Henri Elkan Music Released: April 17, 2026