Deryk Barker replies to me:

>>>Influential? Whom do they influence? To me, they're the Charlotte Church of
>>>brass quintets - famous, but not particularly interesting or technically
>>>sufficient.  The Miller Brass Ensemble of Chicago plays rings around them
>>>and plays much more difficult repertoire besides.
>
>And I have a friend/student, a former professional who studied with
>Herseth, who feels similarly, particularly about the new trumpeter Jens
>Lindemann, who is capable of playing David Mason['s piccolo trumpet solo
>from Penny Lane immaculately live (I know, I've heard him do it).
>
>Sorry Steve, but you comparison with CC is insulting and unworthy.

Well, I've heard them exactly twice - once on TV (not a fair test
of any musician) and one album which I made the mistake of buying and
rectified said mistake by giving it away.  In both cases, I was singularly
unimpressed by their musicianship.  The CD ("Toccata, Brass, and Other
Diversions" - with Romm and Mills, trumpets, Page, horn, Watts, trombone,
and Daellenbach, tuba) contained an absolutely miserable arrangement and
scrappy performance of the Bach d-minor T&F, some kitschy attempts at
"jazz," and things that made absolutely no impression whatsoever, either in
themselves or as performed.  I'll defer to brass player testimonials about
their technique.  However, I've never heard them actually make music out of
what they played.  I realize people have a good time at their concerts, and
that's not nothing.  I doubt, however, I'd see them for free.  I still
stand by my preference for the Miller Brass Ensemble, as well as for the
Empire, the American, and (my favorite) the Philip Jones.

Steve Schwartz