Weirdly personal topic with advice request about rep.

[ginnboonmiller]

I'll start with some background, but if you don't want to read the long version, here's the short one: what's some good tuba/piano music that I should be working on these days?

Now the long one:

After spending a few years on the audition circuit and gigging around for nearly no money, I burned out on "other people's notes" altogether. Stopped taking any gigs that required reading and rehearsals, and devoted a lot of years to the weirdest kind of avant-garde improvisation. I did pretty well with that stuff, and got a bit of a reputation among weird music people - played some festivals, didn't need a full time dayjob, all that. This was from around 1997 to 2001 or so. I burned out on that, too, mostly, and ended up going into jazz scholarship, wrote a textbook on jazz history, and spent more time writing and listening and less time playing tuba. Around the same time, I started working more rock gigs on guitar and bass guitar, too, and the tuba got to be more hobby than profession. It was cool, I was happy, all was well.

Then my tuba got stolen. Freaked me out, because it was the same month I had decided that I needed to get back to it and see what I couldn't do with the tuba again. Argh.

In the meantime, I met my significant other, or whatever you choose to call her. Her story is a little similar to mine. A former professional pianist and organist, she flipped out before I met her, bought a drum set, stored her piano on its side to guarantee that she'd never play it again, and became one of the best rock drummers in town. I tried her out for a rock project I'm doing, we rehearsed in denial for several months, and now... well, the rest of the story is all gooey and sweet and crap, and doesn't really fit in with my cranky online persona.

Well, all of this has come to a weird kind of reckoning point now. My Drummer of Significance, having watched me go all weird and grumpy while dealing with the tuba theft, began to bond with me over the ex-classical background we share. We have rekindled our mutual interest in playing this stuff again. And I was pretty surprised and pleased last week to hear her suggest that once I had insurance settled and could start tuba shopping again, we should break out the Hindemith and start playing written music again. Well, I directed her to the Hindemith Sonata and one listen was enough to convince her that we need to start up a little more modestly than that piano part after a ten year break, of course.

But in the meantime, I've been really out of touch with what is published and good and fun to play. I'll take on any and all recommendations at this point. All music is good music if you make it good, so don't limit yourself to styles and technical demands and such. Just post a little here to tell me your favorite tuba/piano rep and get me back in touch with this stuff. Thanks!

[Uncle Buck]

On the question of a "favorite tuba/piano rep," no matter what else I've played, I always come back to Wilder's Effie Suite. It's been my favorite ever since my Jr. High band director loaned me Bobo's vinyl disk 23 years ago. Since then it's never lost its status as my "favorite."

[Rick Denney]

Since you've already been down the avant garde road, you probably already know about Jay Rozen. He collaborated with Vern Nelson, which he recorded on Killer Tuba Songs. Go to http://www.vernnelson.com/sibelius.html as a starting point. Nelson's stuff is probably not easy, and he's a high-energy avant-garde pianist. You said not to worry about that. It entertained me at the couple of recitals he shared with Jay back in the day, and I'm not always that hip.

Also: http://www.vernnelson.com/killertuba.html. He includes an email address for Jay on that page.

Rick "wondering what Jay is up to these days" Denney

[ginnboonmiller]

Since you've already been down the avant garde road, you probably already know about Jay Rozen. He collaborated with Vern Nelson, which he recorded on Killer Tuba Songs. Go to http://www.vernnelson.com/sibelius.html as a starting point. Nelson's stuff is probably not easy, and he's a high-energy avant-garde pianist. You said not to worry about that. It entertained me at the couple of recitals he shared with Jay back in the day, and I'm not always that hip.

Also: http://www.vernnelson.com/killertuba.html. He includes an email address for Jay on that page.

Rick "wondering what Jay is up to these days" Denney

Ha!

Jay is doing great, by the way. Lives in Long Island and plays all over the place - a lot of touring with Anthony Braxton, last I heard. He's a good friend, or was pre-book contract. I need to look him up again.

He's also the guy for finding obscure stuff that's worth playing. So I guess I have a reason to reconnect, too. Thanks for the reminder!!

[rocksanddirt]

Welcome to tubenet! (even though you've been here longer than me).

I'd also not ignore a sort of cocktail jazz rep. it's not 'classical' type, but might be fun for you folks.