Everett Gilmore's BBb Alex

[Eric B]

Does anybody know where Everett Gilmore's BBb Alexander tuba is? A friend of mine in the Singing Men of East Texas sold Mr. Gilmore his Alexander and was curious about what became of his old horn. My friend purchased the the tuba from the Alexander factory in Germany while in the service. Apparently Everett Gilmore purchased the Alexander shortly after his own Alex was stolen from his car.

[Eric B]

He had more than one BBb Alexander. I bought one that he got in Europe in 1965 from some European tubist while the DSO was on tour (I think).

That must be a different horn. Alex, my friend who sold his Alexander, I believe purchased the tuba in the early '60s and sold it to Mr. Gilmore in the early '80s for $2100.

If he owned several, then it might be difficult to determine who owns Alex's old Alex. We're narrowing it down a bit though.

Thanks and keep 'em coming!

[Eric B]

Elephant,

It appears that the tuba you sold to your student is the one that Alex owned. He's followed our posts and just emailed me. He said the one Everett Gilmore bought in Switzerland while on tour is the one that was stolen from his car. If your old student is ever interested in locating a buyer, then send me a PM. Alex said he would consider buying his old horn back for sentimental reasons.

[Richard Murrow]

I know of two Alex BBb’s that Ev owned. The 1st horn, was as you say stolen from Ev’s old V .W. bus. Shortly after it was stolen I was playing a church job in Tyler, TX. and was approached by someone who said that a church member had an Alexander tuba for sale and he gave me a phone # to contact if I was interested. Well, considering this was only 90 miles East of Dallas and a relatively short time after Ev’s horn had been stolen I became suspicious. I called Ev that evening after the job and told him about the coincidence. Ev was naturally very interested and called the Alex owner the next morning. Long story short, it was not Ev’s horn, but he bought it anyway. That horn turned out to be as good as his 1st one. The funny thing is that within 2 or 3 weeks of buying it, Ev recovered the stolen horn. Ev sold the 2nd horn some years later to a student of mine, Brian Freid, who was a senior in high school. Brian ended up going to Duke University, I believe. We stayed in touch for a few years, but I no longer know where he is. That was a great BBb tuba, terrific Alex sound and great intonation! Now you know the rest of the story.

[Eric B]

Shortly after it was stolen I was playing a church job in Tyler, TX.

Thanks, Richard. That lines up perfectly with what Alex said. He was running sound for First Baptist Church Tyler when you played. Alex had his eyes on a computer, so he needed to sell his instrument. He couldn't remember your name. I'll have to tell him that I've met you before and that he was a suspect; he'll get a kick out of that. So, it seems that the Elephant purchased EV's 1st Alexander and the 2nd one (Alex's) was purchased by the student you mentioned, Brian Freid. I googled "Brian Fried+Tuba" and found this story. http://tinyurl.com/yo3z36

I thought you might be interested. I don't know where he is now or if he still owns the Alexander. I thought you might be interested.

[Ed Jones]

Here is a little more. Ev actually owned three Alex BBb's. The original and the replacement were four valve, yellow brass horns. He also had a five valve, gold brass tuba that he bought in Germany from a retired military player. This is the horn that was purchased by Richard's student a couple of years after Ev retired. Ev used this horn a great deal in his later years in the DSO. As Richard said, it was a great horn in every sense. It had all of the good Alexander qualities with none of the bad. I heard Ev play the Berlioz Requiem (of all things) on this BBb tuba!

[Ed Jones]

The Mirafone 186 BBb (aka "Grandma") is a five valve that Ev purchased when he was in the Army or shortly after he got out. He went to California with the intent to pick out and purchase a CC tuba but "Grandma" turned out to be the best tuba of the lot so he bought it. It was probably used more than any other tuba in his arsenal. His widow still has this horn. He also had a 185 BBb that was sold to a former student of his shortly after his death.

[Eric B]

Here is a little more. Ev actually owned three Alex BBb's. The original and the replacement were four valve, yellow brass horns. He also had a five valve, gold brass tuba that he bought in Germany from a retired military player. tuba!

Indeed, the 2nd one was a 4 valve variety. This all fits together nicely.

[ZNC Dandy]

The Mirafone 186 BBb (aka "Grandma") is a five valve that Ev purchased when he was in the Army or shortly after he got out. He went to California with the intent to pick out and purchase a CC tuba but "Grandma" turned out to be the best tuba of the lot so he bought it. It was probably used more than any other tuba in his arsenal. His widow still has this horn. He also had a 185 BBb that was sold to a former student of his shortly after his death.

I thought "Grandma" was the behemoth Cerveny BBb that he had?

[Ed Jones]

Grandma was the old Mirafone 186 BBb. The Cerveny would have never fit into that bag. The bag for the Cerveny is a very early Altieri, light blue in color.

[Eric B]

All of this talk about Mr. Gilmore's various tubas is a sidebar.

The obvious thing that comes through in this thread is how universally this man was liked and loved by those who knew him.

Yes. I set out to try to locate an old tuba for a friend. I haven't tracked down the tuba, but I have certainly been touched by the many endearing comments about Everett Gilmore. It's wonderful how a post can morph into something far more significant than its original intended purpose. I will continue to enjoy reading your stories and I may even stumble upon Alexander #2 in the process.

[Eric B]

Wade,

I just did a gig with my friend, Alex. He told me that he just posted a picture on his Facebook account. This photo was shot in Germany in the early 1960's after he purchased his BBb Alexander while in the service. This is the horn that Everette Gilmore purchased after his other Alexander was stolen from his VW bus.

Here is a quote from an e-mail that Alex sent me. I am nostolgic about things like this.

"It was taken in 1960 in the army barracks at Bad Kreuznach, Germany, apparently around Christmas time since there are Christmas cards on the wall behind. I was in the 8th Infantry Band at the time. We had a great 50 piece band and played all over Germany and made trips to Luxemburg, Belgium and went to France one time to play a concert in Leon, France. The 7th Army Symphony normally played this concert but they were understrengh, so much they couldn't play a concert. This event was to celebrate 4th of July Independence Day. This was the only town in Europe that celebrated our independance day and the Ambassedor to France was in attendance. We had a great time playing for the Germans and others during the 2 years I was there."

[tbn.al]

Not knowing Mr. Gilmore, I googled him and found this. What an interesting life.

http://music.unt.edu/instrumental/tuba/ ... lmore.html" target="_blank

[bigboymusic]

It's funny how the timing works with these things sometimes. I just purchased the Alex (#1 I think) from a student at LSU. It should be in the KC area within the week. I own a CC alex 163 and a couple e flats, but I have always been looking for a used Alex B flat. When I was growing up in Naperville, Il, there was a director in town that had one that was the UGLIEST thing I had ever seen. But as usual, he sounded GREAT. I think his name was Karl Diehl. As I get older, I like playing Bflat again sometimes if it fits the work. I'm sure this horn will fit in just fine. Just curious, do we know who removed the bottom bow guard? I'll post some photos when it gets here.

[bigboymusic]

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Here are a couple angles of the horn I just purchased from the Elephant's student.

[oedipoes]

that is a very beautiful kaiser tuba !!

Wim

[bigboymusic]

I will probably do nothing to this horn. I have played an Alex CC forever, and play eflats for solo stuff. But I decided that I was going back to B flat playing. I don't do enough Orchestral playing to want the CC fingers all the time. And I LOVE this horn. It plays better than any big horn I have owned. The range is fantastic and I love being able to crank a pedal CC on a B flat tuba! I was very lucky to have come across this horn. This is surely my midlife crisis. No convertable here.

Any rec's from the group on a MP? It came with a large shank Elliot (nice MP), but I want to experiment a bit.

[Tom]

I will probably do nothing to this horn. I have played an Alex CC forever, and play eflats for solo stuff. But I decided that I was going back to B flat playing. I don't do enough Orchestral playing to want the CC fingers all the time. And I LOVE this horn. It plays better than any big horn I have owned. The range is fantastic and I love being able to crank a pedal CC on a B flat tuba! I was very lucky to have come across this horn. This is surely my midlife crisis. No convertable here.

Any rec's from the group on a MP? It came with a large shank Elliot (nice MP), but I want to experiment a bit.

Slightly off course, but what mouthpiece do you play on your Alex CC?

[oedipoes]

question for the board:

Is this a 163 BBb or a 164 ?
Difficult to see from the pictures...

thx!

Wim

[bigboymusic]

163 I think. I play a Schilke H II on the CC, but it has a slightly smaller receiver than the BB.....The B flat receiver is VERY large.....