Born in Maryland in 1954, John Stamp - universally known as 'Jack' - is a well-known figure, both as conductor and composer, in the symphonic wind-band movement that flourishes in US universities. But the sound of the brass band familiar in the UK has long been an enthusiasm, and his involvement with brass bands on both sides of the Atlantic - particularly the Minneapolis-based Lake Wobegon Brass Band, which takes it's name from Garrison Keillor's fictional Minnesota town - has generated a number of works which bring elements of the British brass tradition to audiences in the US Mid-West, imbuing them with a catchy rhythmic swing.