Twilight Dreams in Bloomington, MN

Lester Bowie
's
Brass Fantasy
, which is comprised of four trumpets, two trombones, French horn, tuba and drums, has rarely lived up to its potential on records.
Bowie
has enjoyed having the band take pop tunes (
"Personality"
and "Night Time Is the Right Time" on this album) and distort (and sometimes satirize) them but one imagines that this approach works better in concert than on record. There are some strong moments on this hard-to-find LP (such as
's trumpet-drums duet with the late
Phillip Wilson
on "Duke's Fantasy") but this is a hit-and-miss affair. ~ Scott Yanow