ID the Souzy

[Alex F]

Can anyone ID the souzy being played in this clip?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7J5Q5PZS8o" target="_blank

The horn in questions looks somewhat smaller than the average sousaphone. An Eb maybe?

BTW, this rather well known group. The Green Street Mortuary Band, is made up of pro union musicians and does about 300 of these Chinese funerals a year. I think one of our members, Barry Guerro, had this gig for a while, but I don't know who is playing in the clip.

[Kevin Hendrick]

Can anyone ID the souzy being played in this clip?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7J5Q5PZS8o" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

The horn in questions looks somewhat smaller than the average sousaphone. An Eb maybe?

BTW, this rather well known group. The Green Street Mortuary Band, is made up of pro union musicians and does about 300 of these Chinese funerals a year. I think one of our members, Barry Guerro, had this gig for a while, but I don't know who is playing in the clip.

It does look pretty skinny in the bottom arc for a Bb -- wouldn't be surprised if it was an Eb. Looks like a three-valve, and I think I heard a few Abs and Gs down low, so apparently has good false tones (if it is an Eb).

[David Richoux]

I have met (and sometimes played with) some members of that band, but I never got a call to sub for the Sousaphone part (yet.) I think this is the current general band website: http://www.saxlady.com/memorials.htm and this might also be of interest: http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/st ... treet.html but the link to the NPR archives might be broken.
here is another article:http://tinyurl.com/cpzfee

BTW, I am guessing it is a smallish BBb, but that is just a guess...

[Dan Schultz]

Ii would bet my bippy that it's something on the order of this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/KING-SILVER-PLATED- ... dZViewItem

[imperialbari]

The fine low range and the full-circle wrap makes me say it is a BBb sousaphone.

I have a dislike for European sousaphones, and as there is nothing to be disliked here, I quess it is an American made instrument. In 2000 I tried out a very small Conn BBb in Copenhagen. Not as impressive as my own much larger Conn 40K, but still a fine instrument. Sadly no model # could be found, but I noted that the bell only had 2 fastening screws 180° apart, not the more common 3 screws 120° apart. Olds and Reynolds made smaller BBb sousaphones also.

My first experience with Chinese funeral processions was from a feauture on Macau, when it still was Portuguese. The instruments were western brasses, but to me the sounds were without any musical structures. I wonder about the hymn played in this video. I don’t know it, but to my ears it could be British.

Klaus

[tubatom91]

the bell only had 2 fastening screws 180° apart, not the more common 3 screws 120° apart. Olds and Reynolds made smaller BBb sousaphones also.

if it matters it seems to me that the horn in the video has 3 bell screws, although only two are visable but the seperation tells me that there should be three.

[Alex F]

With respect to the music being played on the clip, the first tune is not familiar to me.

The second tune is the Easter hymn "Jesus Christ is Risen Today".

The third tune is an adaptation of "The Heavens are Telling the Glory of God" from The Creation by Haydn.

The final tune reprises the first.

[iiipopes]

It looks like a King 1250 to me, having played several myself, and the tone has that edgy projection.

[Tuba-G Bass]

My stupid wild guess, Brua C Keefer of Williamsport PA, because my Franken Sousaphone is has the main wrap and bell of a silver Keefer and a Reynolds valve section in brass laquer, made by the great Harv Hartman!
The Keefers were not big horns.

Keefer-sousa-24547.jpg

Courtesy of Horn-u-copia.net