FALLS VILLAGE — The Berkshire Resilience Brass Band brought lively brass and jazz-inspired music to the lawn at the David M. Hunt Library on Friday evening, July 24, drawing about 30 people at the start of the outdoor concert and more as the evening progressed.
Led by trumpeter Shamu Sadeh, the band’s lineup shifts from performance to performance. Friday’s group included Charlie Kiel on trombonium, Sam Earnshaw on percussion, Eric Loffswold on baritone saxophone, Dathalinn O’Dea on alto saxophone, David Rogers on tenor saxophone, and Peter Peirce on trombone.
Audience members became part of the performance as well. During one number, the horn players switched to percussion, while a basket of rattles and other handheld instruments was available for audience members to play along. Sadeh and O’Dea encouraged several young children to shake along with the music.
The audience continued to grow throughout the evening, including a family who stopped after hearing the music while driving by.
Although the band’s performances sound spontaneous, they begin with a shared musical framework.
“We start with a tune or arrangement,” Rogers said. “Then we do or don’t follow it.”
Rogers estimated that any given performance is at least half improvisation.
It’s not left entirely to chance. O’Dea said the group rehearses once a week, on Sundays.
Patrick L. Sullivan
