For 35 years, the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble have astonished audiences with their technical expertise and their surpassing artistry. It has also been a vehicle for the presentation of much original twentieth-century music of quality. With Philip Jones's retirement from trumpet playing, the PJBE ceases to be, though the remainder of the team continue in the same tradition as London Brass. From the 90 compositions written for the ensemble to launch, these five make a vivid selection. Previn's Triolet (1984), rhythmically and harmonically highly-charged though often basically simple, encompasses many changes of mood, ending with a brassy ebulient bounce guaranteed to banish all gloom. The terse wit of Michael Berkeley's Music from Chaucer derives from the strictures imposed by writing incidental music for television. As a suite of miniatures it makes an unusual showcase for melodies of varying density and pitch, the languid ones being particularly fetching. The balanced judgement of the chordal work is of a high order. Lutoslawski's Mini Overture (1982), sinuous and contrapuntal, makes considerable demands on the players, but engages the listener easily enough. Not so Durko's Sinfonietta (1985), which is immediately astonishing rather than endearing, and requires a fair amount of patience for its complications to seem worth while. Rautavaara's Playgrounds for angels creates a world of fantastic fun as wild as pictures in the fire. A truly marvellous record.'