Who would you invite to dinner

[Admin(Terry)]

Keith has sent me this attachment, so it is really from him not me. I am pasting it into my message below:-

CUZ_KEIF wrote:
Terry has asked us all to use the forum more often, so here we go, who are the ten people in the Music world you would invite for dinner (living or dead)..............................mine are (1) Elgar Howarth, a person in my opinion helped to put brass bands on the map with his compositions and arrangements, (2) 'Spike' Jones who brilliantly took the mickey out of music, (3) Victor Borge, who was a very fine pianoist and also had a flair of taking the mickey out of music (4) George Chisholm, who I thought was one of Britians finest Jazz trombonist [I maybe a little bias here as he was a very personal friend of mine] (5) Don Lusher, [again a very personal friend] who could go from swing to brass band music and then into dance band music then military band music, near to the end of his life he was professor of trombone at The Royal Marines School Of Music, Portsmouth. (6) Dmitri Shostakovich, possibly Russias most modernist composer, his Symphony No.15 in A major is a must to listen to, the first movemement contains a snatch of Rossinni's William Tell - it appears five times - and Shostakovich begins the finale with three Wagner quotations from 'The Ring', (7) Brian Evans, one of the worlds finest Eb Soprano players (yet another personal friend who is no longer with us, his masterly control of the Soprano was awesome, I first met Brian in 1966 at the British Open Championships when he played with The C.W.S. Manchester Band, the 'Co-op' won on "A Downland Suite" he had me at the edge of my seat throughout their performance, ( Major Peter Parkes (back to old friends again) Peter Parkes' involvement with Black Dyke Mills Band in the 70's and 80's I don't think could ever be surpassed with him winning the British Open and The National Championships with Black Dyke Mills Band is a wonderful fete, (9) Sir Frederick Vivian Dunn, 'Fred' as he was effectionately called in the Royal Marines, was another good friend of mine, he was appointed the first Principle Director Of Music Of Her Majesty's Royal Marines in 1931, he retired in 1969, he still carried on conducting after his retirement making countless recordings for the BBC with the Light Music Society Orchestra, arguably the greatest military musician of his time, Sir Vivian Dunn made an immense contribution to the modern day Royal Marine Band Service. (10) Stanley James Lever, my father, without him I would have found it impossible to put pen to paper on this forum, he taught me to play the cornet when I was still in short pants, I had many a telling off for not practicing my scales, loads of scoldings for pressing down wrong valves and trying to buff my way past a magnificent teacher, if it wasn't for my dad I would never met half the people who would be attending my dinner ............................... NOW THEN ..... FOLLOW THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! K.S.J. LEVER

[Dave BBb]

What a good idea. Keith certainly has a brilliant array of musicians to attend dinner. If I could sit down to dine with some musicians and have a chat I would also ask George Chisholme to attend. He was one of the finest trombone players ever to come out of Scotland' played with all the top people of his day and was a very funny commedian. I still use his trick of 'switching off the gas' in a cheeky manner when I have a go at trombone with my grandson. A variation is using my lyre holder screw on my BBb to 'fine tune' the thing. I would also like to dine with Don Lusher, another of Keith's 'guests'. I cannot claim him as a friend as Keith can but I was a fan. I saw him shortly before he died playing at the Sands in Gainsborough. A fantastic night -- very few in the audience -- but Don Lusher was a true professional and played his heart out. Victor Borge, another of Keith's guests I would have loved to have met. Very talented musician and another great comic. WE would have a good laugh at this dinner and that's for sure. The only other I would claim from Keith's list is Spike Jones, another fine musician and comic. Now for my other six:
These are mostly jazz musicians, they are Ray Brown (Double Bass) with the Modern Jazz Quartete and Oscar Peterson -- I played Double Bass in a Jazz Group and tried to emulate Ray Brown -- He's the Daddy of all Bassists. I would also love to dine with the man himself -- Oscar Peterson -- greatest jazz pianist of all time; and the wonderful, magnificent, Loise Armstrong -- I would have loved to have met him.
I have three places left and for this I will return to my musical roots, the Salvation Army. Like Keith I would ask my father to attend. He taught me all he new about playing, particularly the BBb, As a result I play the BBb, my brothers Andrew and Alastair play the BBb and my son Graham plays the BBb. All in different Bands. Some others in my family play Eb Bass and there are a few cornet, horn, baritone, euphonium, and trombone players. As a family we are hoping to get together next year to give a concert for our mother's 85th birthday. If it was not for my father and his father before him we might never have played a musical instrument.
My next guest is the man who taught me and hundreds of other boys and girls to play. The old Bandmaster of the Greenock Citadel Salvation Army Band, Brahm King. I will never forget his piercing blue eyes and shocking white hair. I new him for over 30 years and he was always an 'old man'. Get your finguring wrong and he would crack you over the knucles with his baton. Not a man you loved particulary but a musician you respected. Lastly, my tenth guest. My father knew this man and so did Brahm King. They taught him music and how to play the cornet. I was a boy in the Salvation Army with him. It's Kenneth Downie. Now one of the leading lights of the Brass Band world. Even as a boy Kenneth was special, he had a beautiful boy sorano voice, could play piano as well as the cornet and he was a good friend.
So that's my ten -- sadly, apart from Kenneth Downie, they are all dead now -- Maybe I'll see them in the next life to wine and dine.