Is there any place for tuba in a jazz band?

[Leto Cruise]

I would advise you to purchase a Nirschl York. Nothing quite like it.

[tubajoe]

In high school jazz band, probably not, sadly. Most high school jazz bands will be set up specifically to play stock arrangements and / or compete at festivals… and adding tuba breaks that mold. BUT, for an adventurous band director, a solid student, tuba of course can be awesome.

To fit into the stock big band setup, there are two ways to do it:

1.) sub for the bass bone. Problem is that tuba does not have that punchy “crack” that a bass bone will have. The parts are usually fairly easy though.

2.) sub for the bari sax. This one is usually my preference whenever I get the chance. The transposition is easy when you get used to it (add 3 sharps and play it “as it looks” just change the clef), and tuba range is very comparable to bari sax for the most part. Again, you get the similar problem of not being as edgy of a sound as a bari, but it’s doable and can sound really cool. The biggest problem is agility — if you do tightly arranged stuff with sax solis where the harmony is tightly controlled you can run into problems tho as the tuba is obviously heavier and a different color.

—probably an ideal way is to double. Learn some bass bone or some bari sax, and then play one of those chairs with both, swapping to tuba as feels/sounds appropriate. Ballads are an especially good place for the tuba to shine.


Other considerations:

As Bass: In a stock jazz band situation, don’t go there unless you have pretty serious technical facility and know what you are doing. It’s a noble pursuit of course, but chances are at this point you’ll hold back the groove of the band. Ensemble horn parts are the best way to go.

Trad/Dixie: Of course that would be awesome if your band director would go there (and they should) sadly, few know how, and fewer do. (but all tuba players should find a way to become familiar with it!)

Specialized arrangements — ala Gil Evans, Kenton, Torme etc…

Gil’s stuff is amongst the best horn writing ever done of any kind ever. It’s also harder than hell and very little of it was published, and much of it was edited / dictated there on the session. I’d say it’s far beyond the range of any high school band (although, again, a noble pursuit if someone would dare).

Kenton (and Hollywood stuff): Used the tuba incredibly well, but those were in “expanded” arrangements where there was often a 2-4 french horns in addition to the usual big band, the tuba was more or less the bottom of the F horn section. An absolutely incredible sound though.

Monk tentet (Live at Town Hall) used tuba more as the bottom of the sax section in a slightly smaller big band.


Biggest thing overall is don't let the tuba become a gimmick. Insist on the director's and band's treating of it as any other instrument.

[swptwo]

https://youtu.be/REryOT53ORU" target="_blank"

[opus37]

I think the answer to your question is really about vision. Your band director has to have the vision to see that a tuba can play the parts and have the skills, time, gumption to make it happen. Sadly, this is a rare situation. As in Bloke's example, sometimes you have to push it a bit. My band director did not have the vision necessary. Push it if you can, but recognize when you hit a brick wall.

[ScottM]

I played in a "big band" style jazz band for three years in college. The student conductor thought it added so wrote parts using the bass line and the trombone lines. It was a lot of fun and it meant I had a chance to broaden my musical experiences. I doubled on bass trumpet occasionally too.
ScottM

[Steve Marcus]

Way back when (in the 1980s) I played tuba with the Mel Torme Orchestra. The parts were more or less an extension, or 6th part, to the sax section and rather difficult at that.Mel did most of the arrangements we played and they were exquisite. He told me once that he developed the idea for including the tuba from an earlier group that he played in with Red Barber on tuba and also Gunther Schuller on horn and Jerry Mulligan on bari. He basically carried that type of mellow low end moving sound in his ear. The tuba could also be a 5th part to the trombones as well as a featured solo instrument. A good example was "Blues in the Night" which brought in the solo tuba laying out a blues groove and Mel singing over top....

Did Mel himself write these charts with tuba, or Marty Paitch, or both of them?

[PaulMaybery]

Mel did many of them himself. Very talented man. A great drummer. Not the greatest copyist though. I recall "Blues in the Night" was 13 pages. Impossible page turns, and by the time I was playing it, falling apart. I recall all that (even to today) since at the first rehearsal I went to turn the page and the whole book fell apart on the floor. I decided at that point that some of the charts simply needed to be memorized. The other fun story of "BITN" was at my first performance of it, a blinding spot light (almost biblical) engulfed me that had never been tried at the rehearsals. I could see nothing, not the music or even Mel and we had to do this thing as a duo. Through all that white light I managed to pick out Mel's diamond cufflinks bobbing up and down as he snapped his fingers to the beat (or back beat). I was very proud of myself for memorizing the thing and pulling it off as if it were nothing. Mel was happy that the whole thing did not go down the tube.

[jwjeffrey]

The late George Gruntz Big Band had Howard Johnson playing in it both Tuba and Baritone Sax and He had some Tuba Solos.Some of George's concerts are on YouTube,also Dave Bargeron play in that band as well and can be seen playing Euphonium.

[Art Hovey]

I have enjoyed the privilege of playing my tuba in a jazz band for many years.
Here are a couple of cuts from 30 years ago, with tuba solos:

https://app.box.com/s/s2dwap0fxhh3u9hx1wm4vx70er589237

https://app.box.com/s/ifqdu0c5vkxa6wgzb9uwvsa4q8tszk1k

At the time when these were recorded we had been playing every Sunday night for 15 years with different guests every week, usually on trombone, sometimes on piano or other instruments. There were no rehearsals, arrangements, or charts.

These two are from a CD that we made:

http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/test1/CDs ... ucette.htm

It is still available, and most of the guys on the recording are still working.

[TheGoyWonder]

The problem is that you simply must breathe, and that interrupts the flow of a walking bass line. A good walking bass line has very consistent quarter notes with very consistent decay and no space in between.

If the rest of the rhythm section is very good, you can take a breath without it seeming like a mistake. It's still tough work to play a whole gig like that.

Could work adjunct to a trombone section, plus poaching a few choice bari sax lines per song. You'd need to study the score ahead of time, and pledge to do no harm. You'd want a small tuba for a mildly overblown brassy sound, it'd be hard to get just the right place in the mix.

[pecktime]

I have enjoyed the privilege of playing my tuba in a jazz band for many years.
Here are a couple of cuts from 30 years ago, with tuba solos:

https://app.box.com/s/s2dwap0fxhh3u9hx1wm4vx70er589237

https://app.box.com/s/ifqdu0c5vkxa6wgzb9uwvsa4q8tszk1k

At the time when these were recorded we had been playing every Sunday night for 15 years with different guests every week, usually on trombone, sometimes on piano or other instruments. There were no rehearsals, arrangements, or charts.

These two are from a CD that we made:

http://www.galvanizedjazz.com/test1/CDs ... ucette.htm

It is still available, and most of the guys on the recording are still working.

Wow that's great! I've just bought the CD.

What tuba were you playing on the recording?

Cheers

[UDELBR]

The problem is that you simply must breathe, and that interrupts the flow of a walking bass line. A good walking bass line has very consistent quarter notes with very consistent decay and no space in between.

Here's how it's done. Rich Matteson with Phil Wilson. https://youtu.be/2rUpK0qoyCI?t=1m28s

[Art Hovey]

Wow that's great! I've just bought the CD.

What tuba were you playing on the recording?

Thank you for your kind words and for buying the CD!

All of my work with the Galvanized Jazz Band has been with my black Buescher BBb helicon with a Bohm & Meinl valve set. It has been my favorite horn for this kind of work since 1967.

[Three Valves]

I'd personally remove half the notes from the walking bass lines.

That's the only way I could keep up!!