January/February 1998

Slidewerke
Trombania
Sea Breeze

By Jack Sohmer

Formerly known as The National Slide Quartet, Slidewerke is probably the only group of its kind in the world, as its entire personnel consists of only four hornmen, playing a capella in various combinations of tenor, symphonic, bass and contrabass trombones. The eminently pleasing collective timbre that Hollywood studiomen Bruce Otto, Alex Iles, Dave Ryan and Mike Suter achieve finds its expression on a surprisingly broad range of material, from a modernized adaptation of Henry Fillmore's circus band rag, "Lassus Trombone," to Tommy Pederson's extended "South Of The Border Suite," Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon," Robert Curnow's "Trombania Suite," "Someone To Watch Over Me," Pederson's "Slidelock," Suter's "Impression Of A Parade" and "Stardust." While admittedly not to everyone's taste, Slidewerke should certainly intrigue other like-minded trombonists and arrangers.