Meanie Master Blinders

John Ferari drums; Daniel Grabois, horn; Benjamin Herington, trombone;
Brian McWhorter and Jon Nelson, trumpets; Raymond Stewart, tuba

The Meridian Arts Ensemble is something of a brass quintet version of the Kronos Quartet, totally challenging preconceived notions of the idiom and recontextualizing them for a more world-inclusive and contemporary form of expression. On their latest disc Brink, the quintet plus drummer offer a typically eclectic program spanning numerous compositional styles and approaches. While Slim in Beaten Dreamers, Nick Didkovsky’s collection of 15 aphoristic vignettes, sounds nothing like the post-prog rock he creates for his band Doctor Nerve, it also sounds nothing like any other brass piece. If you know someone who thinks brass music is nothing but Salvation Army chorales, play them some of Nick D’s totally swinging Varèsian riffs.

—FJO