Band Music Notes, by Norman Smith, Neil a Kjos Music Co. (1979 Revised Ed., PB).

This mint condition paperback is signed by the author, with a personal inscription to Harry, with whom he played in the Windjammers Circus Band in the 1980s. Smith, a trumpet player, music teacher and band director, wrote this book for other band directors who wanted a resource for preparing program notes for their band concerts. It includes info on 250 composers and program info on over 600 favorite compositions–the most unique and complete book of its kind. (More about the author here.)

Bands of America, by H. W. Schwartz. Doubleday (1957).

This is a nostalgic illustrated history of the golden age of band music that anyone with an interest in band music would appreciate.

Brass Bands & New Orleans Jazz, by William J. Schafer. Louisiana State University Press (1977 PB, 2nd Printing.)

Jazz enthusiasts will appreciate this book, which presents a history of the New Orleans brass bands of the 19th century and how they influenced the development of jazz, It includes several B&W photographs of New Orleans brass bands from the 1860s through the 1970s and a discography of known commercial recordings.

Hallelujah Trombone–The Story of Henry Fillmore by Paul E. Bierley. Integrity Press (1982 PB)

Book is signed by author and inscribed to Harry and Barbara Brabec. This book, which documents Henry Fillmore’s life and music, took nine years of detective work to research and write because Fillmore wrote under eight different names. It includes an abundance of photographs, two appendixes, bibliography and index.

The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music: Composers and Their Music (2 Volumes), by William H. Rehrig ; Paul E. Bierley (ed.). Integrity Press (1991).

Harry's beautiful mint-condition two-volume set sold for $150. Extremely rare in any condition, these books focus on concert band repertoire and are a complete directory of composers whose work has been adapted for concert band, with works listed by title, publisher, date, and arranger. No longer available on Amazon, they may still be found in libraries.

John Philip Sousa--American Phenomenon, by Paul E. Bierley. Integrity Press (1973).

Signed by the author and personally inscribed to "friends Barbara and Harry Brabec." this authentic biography by Paul Bierley—the world’s leading authority on Sousa—fills a long-standing void in the musical history of America.

The Music Man--The Story of Frank Simon, by Michael Freedland. Vallentine-Mitchell (1994 PB).

This biography of one of the most significant figures in the American band movement was written with the cooperation of Simon’s family.

The Music Men, An Illustrated History of Brass Bands in America, 1800-1920, by Margaret Hindle Hazen. Smithsonian (1987 PB).

This fine paperback traces the evolution of the American band from its inception to the end of WW I. It's lavishly illustrated with photographs, programs and other historical documents.

The Music of Henry Fillmore & Will Huff, by Paul E. Bierley. Integrity Press (1982 PB, FIrst Printing.)

This mint condition copy was signed by the author November 1, 1982 and inscribed to Barbara and Harry Brabec. It's a complete catalog of the music of two composers whose lives got mixed together because one of Fillmore’s eight aliases was Will Huff, But there was also a real Will Huff who was also a band composer reared in Ohio like Fillmore. (That story is told in more detail in the book, Hallelujah Trombone (see left).

Nostalgic Happenings in the Three Bands of John Philip Sousa, by Malcolm Heslip. Integrity Press (1992).

The author, who was first associated with the Sousa band in 1917, describes more than two dozen incidents relating to the activities of the legendary Sousa band that crisscrossed American regularly for 39 years and also made four extended tours of Europe. Sousa historians will love this little tome!

The Sousa Band, A Discography. Library of Congress, U.S. Govt. Print. Office (1970).

Originally published by the Library of Congress, this book, of primary interest to Sousa historians, is no longer in print. It lists all the Sousa recordings, from cylinders done in the 1800s through 1929, with an index of the composers of all the music he recorded. A good picture of the kind of music people of his generation were listening to.

This Band's Been Here Quite a Spell—1859-1981, by Mary Lou Cowlishaw, Naperville Municipal Band (1981).

Published in 1981—the Sesquicentennial year of the City of Naperville—this book tells the story of its Municipal Band, which was 122 years old that year. Copies as fine as this are quite rare, and this one is doubly-collectible in that it is signed by the Band’s director, Ron Keller, on the inside cover, and bears a personal inscription to Harry Brabec, "Mr. Percussion," who played with the band from time to time.

The Works of John Philip Sousa, by Paul E. Bierley. Integrity Press (1984).

This near-mint first edition copy has a navy blue cloth cover with title in gilt on both cover and spine. Signed by the author, it is inscribed to Harry and Barbara Brabec. This catalog of Sousa’s work includes the history and author’s comments about each of Sousa’s works based on his twenty years of research into the composer’s life and music.

See also the related collection of CDs:

Brass Bands, March Music, Circus & Sousa