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Hello all! I have finally decided to get over the fear that has paralyzed me for a decade and begin my journey through the world of Jazz! I am blessed to have an extremely good, experienced player on staff at work, but I would like to hear a bit about groovin' from a tubist's standpoint. Does anyone here have some tuba-specific advice for jazz beginners? Who should I be listening to? I have "Gravity!" as well as the Marty Erickson/Wycliffe Gordon duo cd "You and I" on order; what else should I be looking out for? What sort of horn would be good for this? Does it matter? Are there any jazz tubists in the D.C. area accepting students? I recently transferred to Quantico, VA and would be willing to drive an hour or so in any direction...except east. =P Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I would look up Andy Kochenour in Richmond, VA, formerly(?) of Dixie Power Trio. You can find him on FaceBook. I would also recommend listening to DPT's CDs. Andy's bass lines are awesome!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_ ... x=dixie+po

go to Dave Gannett's site http://www.tubagear.com" target="_blank Look for recordings in the left menu. Anything by Dave will be amazing in terms of trad oriented, but by all means you MUST get "Tubas From Hell". He has a few Rich Matteson discs available, as well as Red Lehr, Red Callender, Jon Sass, and Art Hovey. If you've not heard of these guys, well, you have some buying to do. Most of them, you can do mp3 downloads or buy the disc.

I'm not a jazzer but I would think that principles of study cross the borders of style, at least.

Don't limit your listening to jazz tuba players, listen to the best jazz musicians regardless of instrument. Don't let your boundaries be established by your instrument. Examples: there were no "classical" guitarists before Andres Segovia. He heard great pianists and great violinists and wanted to play their music.
Where did Bobby McFerrin learn to sing like that? Not from any other singer I've heard.
Miles Davis learned from a sax player.
Bela Fleck (if you can make it on a banjo, you can make it on a tuba). Well, you get the idea.

WHICH IS NOT TO SAY that any of the tubists mentioned in earlier posts are not fine jazz musicians. I have heard the Marty Erickson/Wycliffe Gordon album, excellent playing!

Along with the other tuba suggestions, I will throw in a vote for the Brazzology CD with Richard Murrow playing tuba, Larry Spencer on trumpet. I have heard jazz musicians say that it swings and I know that is one high complement.

I very much agree with Alex C. Listening to great jazz tubists is a great idea, but you should also listen to some of the staples, such as Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," arguably one of the best albums ever made. Instead of focusing on jazz tuba lines, try listening to all aspects of jazz. While I began my playing on tuba, I quickly picked up bass for my school's jazz band. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've used a solo lick while improvising or just playing a straight bass line.

You've gotten lots of great advice here. I particularly like what bloke had to say. I'm in a similar position to yours, so I'll be taking his advice.

Yes, listen to lots of non-tuba players (can't beat Louis Armstrong, for example), but I'd like to throw Bob Stewart's "Then & Now" into your tuba-jazz listening pile.

As to what horn, you'll probably want something small and nimble, probably in CC. Something like this, maybe:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=34132 -- which is exactly what I play.

Bloke's response gets my vote.

Also: Rich Matteson used to say in his jazz theory courses that if you (classical musicians too!) couldn't play "Happy Birthday" in all keys without printed music, then it's time to do some serious ear training.

I would also suggest (in addition to the solid advice here) a jazz bass method book (such as "The Improvisor's Bass Method by Chuck Sher of Sher Music) and a copy of one of the "Real Books" (either the Sher ones, or the Hal Leondard ones) and learn some melodies and study how the chord progressions are developed.

Hank Feldman and his piano player "Sly" (plays tuba as well)...those guys can play some jazz. Also, Jon Sass and Nat McIntosh are great guys to listen to as well.

I know Sly is really influenced by Clifford Brown (trumpet playe who died at a young age) and he even knows all of his solos. I remember me and a few other UCA folks sat in on a rehearsal with Sly and Hank, and Sly took some time and just jammed along to a Clifford Brown cd. He knew the solos from memory! So cool (and a good skill to pick up)!

You should also seek out recordings by Tubenet member Eli Newberger - with the Black Eagle Jazz Band and his other trios and duos - IMO some of the best solos and "working" (not "walking") bass lines in all forms of jazz (not just "trad/Dixie!")

Pure inspiration!