Classical Notes: May 23, 2008 Archive

Penny Lane: a Wrong Turn!

Posted at 6:00 AM on May 23, 2008 by John Birge (1 Comments)

Department of Corrections:

A few months ago on the radio, I did a bit on the 80th birthday anniversary of trumpeter Philip Jones. I made the mistake of trusting Wikipedia, which stated that Jones played the piccolo trumpet solo on the Beatles' song Penny Lane. As I read it, it sounded right; he was playing lead in all the big London orchestras in the 60's, and would have been a natural choice.

But later I got curious. How, in all my years of collecting brass trivia, had I never heard this before? A quick Google later, I found the truth. Wiki was incorrect; it was actually another prominent British trumpeter named David Mason. And to corroborate that, here he is remembering how he came to get the gig (it all started with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2):

Watta guy! For more, here's a site with everything you want to know about the piccolo trumpet solo in Penny Lane, including corroboration from legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

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Primer for Aspiring Classical Snobs...

Posted at 2:17 PM on May 23, 2008 by Gillian Martin (1 Comments)

...in which the author learns not how to appreciate classical music, but how to oppress others with his knowledge of it.

This column by LA Times writer Joel Stein gave me several good laughs. I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

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