Album

Not Sousa is the clever concept behind this first volume of marches from Altissimo! focusing on military marches that some people might think are John Philip Sousa's due to their familiarity. Here one will find such blazers as Fucik's Entry of the Gladiators, Louis Ganne's Father of Victory, and the National Emblem March of E.E. Bagley—none of them titles that pop into one's non-expert head right away when thinking of great marches, but immediately recognizable once the band strikes up the tune. In addition, the band here is a very good one: the United States Marine Band, an organization once led by Sousa himself.

This collection of 16 marches is probably the best engineered album that Altissimo! has produced, and while there is some slight variance to the sound, it is not nearly as distracting as has been the case in some earlier Altissimo! releases. The performances overall are very good, although some are better than others—Henry Fillmore's breakneck Rolling Thunder is fabulously well played, whereas Johann Strauss I's familiar Radetzky March falls somewhat flat owing to the plodding tempo employed. Not all of these marches are necessarily immediate, and the disc is padded out by a couple of delightful obscurities, such as Pierre Leemans' jaunty Belgian Paratroopers. For listeners who would like to locate familiar marches that have eluded them in the past as the name "Sousa" is not attached to them, overall Not Sousa will prove a highly enjoyable collection that could well help bridge the gap.

© Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

CD 1
Edwin Eugene Bagley Composer National Emblem, march for orchestra Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Albert F. Schoepper Conductor, Timothy Foley Conductor
1	National Emblem, march for orchestra	2:59			$0.99
Carl Teike Composer Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden), march for band Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
2	Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden), march for band	4:31			$0.99
Julius Fucik Composer Entry of the Gladiators, Op.68 Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
3	Entry of the Gladiators, Op.68	2:38			$0.99
Johann Strauss I Composer Radetzky-Marsch, for orchestra, Op.228 Work John R. Bourgeois Conductor, United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
4	Radetzky-Marsch, for orchestra, Op.228	2:30			$0.99
Alex F. Lithgow Composer Invercargill, march for band Work John R. Bourgeois Conductor, United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
5	Invercargill, march for band	2:24			$0.99
Johannes Hanssen Composer Valdres March for Band Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
6	Valdres March for Band	3:39			$0.99
Karl L. King Composer Purple Pageant, for band Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Albert F. Schoepper Conductor, Timothy Foley Conductor
7	Purple Pageant, for band	3:21			$0.99
Henry Fillmore Composer Rolling Thunder Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
8	Rolling Thunder	1:57			$0.99
Davide delle Cese Composer Inglesina (Little English Girl), symphonic march for band Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
9	Inglesina (Little English Girl), symphonic march for band	4:37			$0.99
William Walton Composer Crown Imperial (coronation march) Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
10	Crown Imperial (coronation march)	8:28			$0.99
Kenneth J. Alford (AKA Frederick Joseph Ricketts) Composer H. M. Jollies for Orchestra Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Frederick Fennell Conductor, Timothy Foley Conductor
11	H. M. Jollies for Orchestra	2:38			$0.99
Edwin Franko Goldman Composer The Chimes of Liberty Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
12	The Chimes of Liberty	3:11			$0.99
Pierre Leemans Composer Belgian Paratroopers for Orchestra Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
13	Belgian Paratroopers for Orchestra	4:19			$0.99
Louis Ganne Composer Le Père la Victoire, march Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Timothy Foley Conductor
14	Le Père la Victoire, march	5:25			$0.99
William Paris Chambers Composer The Boys of the old Brigade, march for band Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Frederick Fennell Conductor, Timothy Foley Conductor
15	The Boys of the old Brigade, march for band	2:22			$0.99
Charles S. Belsterling Composer March of the Steel Men Work United States Marine Band Ensemble, Albert F. Schoepper Conductor, Timothy Foley Conductor
16	March of the Steel Men	2:53			$0.99