Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Although the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble actually formed in 1951, its first full-length concert did not take place until the 1962 Aldeburgh Festival. Moreover, the group made its first recording only in 1970. It was the first such brass ensemble to perform in the world's major concert halls and to record with the preeminent labels. Philip Jones (born 1928), the ensemble's founder, was a virtuoso trumpet player whose first important position was with the Covent Garden orchestra, where he played from 1948 to 1951. About the time he resigned from there, Jones founded the ensemble bearing his name, which consisted of a quintet of players featuring two trumpets, a horn, trombone, and tuba. Later, it expanded to ten players for selected bigger concert dates in Europe and the U.S. Jones originally conceived the idea to form the group after hearing the Amsterdam Koper Quartet, an obscure ensemble of brass players whom he had heard in an Edinburgh concert. The players most closely associated with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble during its 35-year existence were Elgar Howarth (trumpet), who was also a well-known composer and conductor; Ifor James (horn); John Iveson (trombone); John Fletcher (tuba); and of course, Jones. Other players over the years, generally those added when ten pieces were used, included the famed horn player Alan Civil, James Watson, John Wilbraham, Rod Franks, John Miller, Denis Wick, Dave Stewart, Chris Mowat, and Frank Lloyd. After founding the group in 1951, Jones freelanced over the next few years while his ensemble made infrequent appearances, advancing little toward establishing a reputation beyond the British Isles. Jones joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for four seasons, beginning in 1956, then the Philharmonia in 1960 for an identical tenure. From 1962, the PJBE slowly built a reputation that evolved as their repertory grew, especially from pieces by Giovanni Gabrieli and Johann Pezel. Jones had shorter stints with other British orchestras in the 1960s: the London Philharmonic in 1964-1965, the New Philharmonic Orchestra in 1965-1967, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1968 to 1972. By the time Jones had left the BBC, his ensemble had made its first recordings and was in demand not only in the U.K., but throughout Europe and the U.S. They began to draw important commissions too, including one from American composer Raymond Premru, who composed his Divertimento for them in 1976. But the PJBE also began playing other modern works, including ones by Richard Rodney Bennett, Hans Werner Henze, and Toru Takemitsu. The ensemble also began working with choral groups, in particular with the London Bach Choir. Much of the repertory of the PJBE were transcriptions of well-known classical works. Elgar Howarth made one of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in 1979, which the group then premiered and recorded.
Jones, who had allotted some of his time to teaching when he left the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1972, retired from the ensemble in 1986, thereafter focusing his professional activities on teaching. Yet he might have continued the PJBE had a freak accident not hastened his decision to retire: he drove his automobile over his trumpet case. The group then disbanded, but re-formed under the name the London Brass. Without doubt, the PJBE was one of the most influential instrumental ensembles in terms of laying the groundwork for the establishment of similar highly successful groups, such as the Canadian Brass and the Empire Brass.
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The Malcolm Arnold Edition, Vol.1 - The Eleven Symphonies
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Vernon Handley, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gregson: Music Of The Angels
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Rumon Gamba
Classical - Released by Chandos on 27 Mar 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The World of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 6 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sousa Marches
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Elgar Howarth
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The 20th Century Album
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 26 Feb 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Henze: Whispers from Heavenly Death; 5 Neapolitan Songs; Being Beauteous; Essay on Pigs
Berliner Philharmoniker, Richard Kraus, Instrumentalists of the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, English Chamber Orchestra, Hans Werner Henze
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Music for Brass
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Henze: The Tedious Way to Natasha Ungeheuer's Apartment Show for 17 performers
William Pearson, Fires Of London, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Gunter Hampel Free Jazz Ensemble, Hans Werner Henze
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Joy To The World
Alternative & Indie - Released by London Brass on 1 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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La Battaglia
Chamber Music - Released by Marcophon on 26 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Knabenchor Hannover & London Brass: Christmas Carols (British Music for the Festive Season)
Knabenchor Hannover, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Jorg Breiding
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on 22 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bennett: Piano Concerto - Five Studies for Piano -Capriccio for Piano Duet - Commedia IV
Stephen Kovacevich, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Thea Musgrave, Alexander Gibson
Concertos - Released by Lyrita on 1 Sep 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Music From Great Occasions At Westminster Abbey
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Martin Neary
Classical - Released by imp on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brass at Walhalla
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Elgar Howarth
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
PJBE Finale
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Lionel Friend, Elgar Howarth
Chamber Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas around the World: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Knabenchor Hannover, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Andreas Greiter, Jorg Breiding
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on 10 Nov 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Music From The Royal Court
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 28 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Modern Times
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Feb 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maw: Sinfonia - Gardner: Theme & Variations - Dodgson: Sonata - Addison: Divertimento
English Chamber Orchestra, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Norman Del Mar
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 1 Apr 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky, Poulenc: Choral Works
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Simon Preston
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo