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Oompah-oompah-oompah! I love brass, and I especially love the Beltway Brass on Holiday Drive. The quintet members (Zachary Smith, Chas T. Peterson, Merry Beth Hall, Dan Haverstock, Andy Kochenour) reside in the Washington, D.C., area and spend a lot of time stuck on the infamous beltway. The idea for this juicy instrumental offering was apparently conceived somewhere in traffic, and the product pumps considerable fun and brass brashness into 14 seasonal standards

The opener, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, is a real pip. The tuba booms the introductory bars before the trumpet sails off away with the jazzed melody. Jingle Bells is equally bright and fun, grandly providing tuba oompahs from stem to stern. Holiday Drive is a great blend of exuberant joy and thoughtful contemplation. The latter sentiment shines on serious numbers like Away in a Manger and Silent Night. My favorite pieces, however, are the ones that exhibit unrestrained glee; you can just feel how much fun these folks are having! The closing We Wish You a Merry Christmas is yet another example of this spritely irreverence.

I tip my hat to the very fine arrangements throughout this release (all by Zachary Smith, except for Chas Peterson's fine arrangement on I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day). At just 36 minutes, I wish the Beltway Brass had sustained a bit more staying power.

OK, kids, into the car! It's time for the family to take a Holiday Drive, and don't forget to pack the Beltway Brass in the CD player! It's going to be a root-toot-tootin' trip!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)

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From the liner notes:

Personnel for Beltway Brass:
Zachary Smith - Trumpet and Flugel Horn
Chas T. Peterson - Trumpet and Flugel Horn
Merry Beth Hall - French Horn
Dan Haverstock - Trombone
Andy Kochenour - Tuba

The Beltway Brass is a project group led by Zachary Smith of the nationally acclaimed Dixie Power Trio. The members of the quintet reside in the Washington, D.C. area and quite frequently spend hours sloggin around I-495, D.C.'s infamous beltway. It was on this stretch of highway that the idea for the Beltway Brass was conceived.

All but one of the arrangements on this CD were penned by the leader and many of them are available at trumpetunes.com.

Recorded and engineered by Bill McElroy at Slipped DISC in Ashland, VA
Mastered by Jeff Covert at Wally Cleaver's Studio in Fredericksburg, VA
Produced by Zachary Smith

Beltway Brass

Holiday Drive

Artist link

Track List