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On West Philadelphia Orchestra’s new track, “Paraíba,” Balkan brass intersects with the folkloric rhythms of Brazil, thereby tracing the personal journeys of the song’s composer, Gregg Mervine. Mervine played with WPO from 2006-2010 and again from 2016 to the present; he spent those gap years living in the interior of Paraíba, a state in the Brazil’s Northeastern region, learning the region’s traditional folkloric music and playing with bandas do pifano, reisados, forró bands, and more. Before leaving Brazil, he composed “Paraíba” as a wistful farewell to the Cariri and the Borborema Mountains. A descending sequence of low brass chords supports the mournful trumpet calls, until the low brass lead with a plaintive melody of their own. The percussion section evokes a joyful procession of Carnival revelers led by twinkle of the triangle, the roll of snare drums, and the boom of the zabumba. The solos are by Daniel Stern on trumpet and Elliott Levin on tenor sax.

credits

from WPO Singles 2019​-​2022, released November 25, 2022
Gregg Mervine, Chad Brown, Elliot Beck, Tim Arnold - percussion
Daniel Stern, Adam Hershberger, Dawn Webster - trumpets
Frank Rein, Hayley Varhol, Larry Toft - baritones and trombones
Frank Rein - tuba
Elliott Levin, Larry Goldfinger, David Fishkin - reeds

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West Philadelphia Orchestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

West Philadelphia Orchestra (WPO) is a brass band whose music draws inspiration from Balkan brass bands and transcendent jazz. WPO is known for the intensity and chaos of their dance parties, as well as their curious line-up of musicians: spinning tubist, Elliott's hellfire sax, and the voice of Petia Z. ... more

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