MUSIC REVIEW : Epic Brass Quintet Plays Stale Shtick : The silliness of the act affects the Boston-based group’s music-making abilities in Fullerton appearance.

There is a battle going on in the world of the brass quintet . . . and the brass quintet is losing.

Under the influence of a hugely popular little troupe called the Canadian Brass, brass quintets everywhere are becoming gag ensembles, pushers of stale shtick rather than good music.

The traditional, noble and true brass quintet repertory is being left behind.

Imagine going to see the Royal Shakespeare Co. and getting nothing but scenes from “F Troop,” “Gilligan’s Island” and “Laverne and Shirley.” Imagine going to hear the Juilliard String Quartet and hearing only Broadway medleys, Leroy Anderson and Spike Jones.

Such was the program Friday night in First United Methodist Church of Fullerton, performed by young Boston-based brass quintet calling itself Epic Brass. “Epic” as in epically silly, it turned out.

The group’s program, presented by the North Orange County Community Concert Assn., consisted of nothing but snippets, all in transcription. Not a single note of music originally designed for brass quintet tainted the players’ lips.

Instead, we got a Reader’s Digest survey of the best melodies (and only the good bits). There were arrangements of “Casta Diva,” Sabre Dance, part of the “Barbiere di Siviglia” Overture, “Amparito Roca,” “Bugler’s Holiday,” “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans,” “Lassus Trombone” . . . .

In between the tunes it was a laugh-a-thon, with repartee the likes of which Soupy Sales would cringe at. The group got into a mock argument over what it should play next. The players huddled, breathed deeply, put on their game faces, psyching themselves up for some especially serious music to come.

While the first trumpet announced a heroic Spanish solo, the other members of the cast schemed behind him and then shouted “Ole!” when he finished. Very funny. Very fresh.

During the tunes, the players mugged at each other. They galloped like horses during the Lone Ranger theme (adding a horse’s whinny on the trumpet, of course). They threatened to blast a lady out of her seat, took a huge breath in unison, then played a soft chord.

The trombonist strolled up and down the aisle glissandoing in people’s faces. He danced the can-can during Offenbach’s Can-Can. How do they think this stuff up?

And, oh yes, during intermission, members of Epic Brass were in the lobby selling its compact discs and tapes. Step right up, ladies and gents. . . .

How did they play, you ask. Well, it’s a tight and talented ensemble but the slickness of the act has affected its music-making abilities.

There was not a bit of difference in the way Epic Brass played Vivaldi and McCartney, Rossini and King Oliver.