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I just got this one from a friend... Mic Gillette, former member of the Tower of Power horn section, played the National Anthem solo before the Giants & Rockies game on May 6th. Make makes this performance unique is that he started on tuba, sounding pretty good doing it too, then, as phrasing allowed, switched to trombonium and finally to trumpet to finish the solo performance. Check it out on YouTube below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZyUjwBkmmo

Hey Mick, stick to the trumpet.

Mic will be playing at my son's high school this Saturday - he'll be bringing in some of his professinal musician friends and joining the school's jazz bands. The last set is always Tower of Power charts played by the full ensemble and the kids always seem to step up to play those charts well. Mic and friends will work with all the jazz band kids during the rehearsals leading up to the benefit concert - it's a great experience for the young musicians.

I record all the schools local band and choir concerts and this will be the third time that Mic has come to this school to do a program like this. There's no question the the presence of Mic and the local pros brings the level of musicianship up for everyone involved. It's a great way to inspire the next generation of players.

If only we all had an assistant for switching horns between phrases!

And Tony C has a great point in his comment.

Klaus

goodgigs wrote:I feel that his playing "Your still a young man" in the last phrase to be completely inappropriate !
I am however, completely nuts about this song - believing that the addition of a single grace note or passing tone
to be an act of high treason punishable by death !!

Agreed!

If you study the performance history of the SSB, you will see it is not at all a cast in iron tune. It certainly has developed over the centuries (and I doubt I have seen or heard all historical versions). Where I revolt is about the performances that are bad by any standard like the infamous one by Roseanne Barr.

Klaus

goodgigs wrote:I feel that his playing "Your still a young man" in the last phrase to be completely inappropriate !
I am however, completely nuts about this song - believing that the addition of a single grace note or passing tone
to be an act of high treason punishable by death !!

Hear Hear!

A friend of mine was at that game and he asked be about the middle horn Mic Gillette used. From his text description I thought it might have been a Keyed Bugle. However, after watching the clip I think it is more likely the Olds Marching Trombone on this page.

imperialbari wrote:. Where I revolt is about the performances that are bad by any standard like the infamous one by Roseanne Barr.

Klaus

No need to revolt. The high art of Roseanne Barr's infamous performance is comedic, not musical (to be clear, I am being completely serious).

I might have considered that performance comedy, if I had had the slightest suspicion, that she could have sung your anthem better. I have heard comment on it later hinting that she was serious: It wasn’t the best anthem ever, but it wasn’t the worst either.

Klaus