A bit of jazz tuba for a change :)

[quesonegro]

I posted a little practise room video from this afternoon, playing the tune Tangerine, on tuba for a change. Funny how different it feels compared to the cimbasso, even though both are in F...anyways, there it is

http://youtu.be/Kvflefgi030

Live Long and Prosper

//Mattis

[Ulli]

Very nice, thank you.

Grüße aus Stolberg/Rhld

[quesonegro]

Danke!

Grüße aus Kölle

//Mattis

[amg123]

KILLIN'

[quesonegro]

There's a trigger for the main tuning slide, hence the twitching

[tbn.al]

Sweet! Man, you got some chops!

[Wayne Rice]

Loved that. Definitely subscribed. What do you suggest to begin studying improvisation? That is my musical mission. Do you give lessons over Skype?

[caseys186]

Nice stuff!

[Tubadork]

Awesome!
Wish you lived in the US.
B

[quesonegro]

Loved that. Definitely subscribed. What do you suggest to begin studying improvisation? That is my musical mission. Do you give lessons over Skype?

There are lots of ways to learn improvisation, great books and great teachers. I'm still struggling with it myself and probably will for the rest of my life, but there's very little mystery to it, mostly knowledge and hard work, as with most things! I'd say start with finding a good jazz teacher, on what instrument is not important...having a teacher who's main instrument is different than your's might even be an advantage, it might help with not getting stuck in preconceived notions about your instrument and what function it's supposed to have, what phrases fit etc...then work your a** of and make great music!!

Cheers

//Mattis

[swillafew]

I am listening now, great job! Brass players' improvised solos are often giving up a lot of ground to other types of instruments, but you are doing us a service showing that brass instruments can be played so well.

[quesonegro]

Thanks, but I think there is an amazing array of great brass jazz soloists, both in the present and the past! So many great trumpet players and trombone players...not so many tuba players though, which is a shame, and a bit surprising! Considering all the great virtuoso stuff the classical players can play, there's no real reason why there aren't any jazz tuba players playing the **** out of the changes just as the other instrumentalists do! Even considering range and projection, think of bass players, plenty of great ones out there! In the end there is just our own perception and ideas, or lack there of, that get in the way...and THAT we can certainly change, if we wish to and don't settle for less! I'm just a self-tought hack on the tuba and cimbasso, but it's never too late to learn new things!!

Cheers

//Mattis

[PaulTkachenko]

Hey Mattis,

I know you sometimes use a Rumberger pickup ... whereabouts do you put it?

Did you experiment with a few places (at the risk of drilling many holes into the instrument!)

Cheers,

Paul

[David Richoux]

If you think there are no great jazz tubists, you are not looking hard enough. Check the archives here, or go to any number of Traditional (Dixieland) festivals around the world. There are hundreds of very skilled tubists who can lay down a very good bass line all over the place!
Also open your mind to the idea that not all jazz is just post BeBop background radio stuff. New Orleans Brass Bands are jazz, new and old school. There are post-modern jazz groups with tuba ( check out Marcus Rojas and several others) and many so called "Stage Jazz Bands" or "Big Bands" use tuba like fifth trombone part or to also be part of the rhythm section. This has been going on since the dawn of jazz, by the way - the tuba has been and will be an essential instrument for jazz!

Oh, and don't always expect a classically trained tubist can just jump in and play any kind of jazz - there is a big difference between the two areas (my few experiences playing in the other camp were a bit horrible.) You are much more playing without a net with jazz, and you need to learn how to improvise off a structure that you might not totally be sure of - lots of rules and "no rules!"

Getting off my high horse now... going to play my fourth paid jazz gig of the week!

[quesonegro]

Hi Paul, I didn't experiment much, just picked a spot that seemed like it might make sense, also from a practical point...mine is on the last upper loop before the bell...as you say, I'd hate to drill a bunch of holes too see what happens I use the Rumberger mainly for effect pedal sound, so I'm less concerned with how the clean sound comes out in that regard...it seems to work well enough though! I have the same set-up on my bass bone and cimbasso as well...

Cheers

//Mattis

[quesonegro]

If you think there are no great jazz tubists, you are not looking hard enough. Check the archives here, or go to any number of Traditional (Dixieland) festivals around the world. There are hundreds of very skilled tubists who can lay down a very good bass line all over the place!
Also open your mind to the idea that not all jazz is just post BeBop background radio stuff. New Orleans Brass Bands are jazz, new and old school. There are post-modern jazz groups with tuba ( check out Marcus Rojas and several others) and many so called "Stage Jazz Bands" or "Big Bands" use tuba like fifth trombone part or to also be part of the rhythm section. This has been going on since the dawn of jazz, by the way - the tuba has been and will be an essential instrument for jazz!

Oh, and don't always expect a classically trained tubist can just jump in and play any kind of jazz - there is a big difference between the two areas (my few experiences playing in the other camp were a bit horrible.) you are much more playing without a net with jazz, and you need to learn how to improvise off a structure that you might not totally be sure of - lots of rules and "no rules!"

Hi David, I'm not ripping on anybody but there's a world of difference between laying down groovy bass lines and improvising solos along the lines of, say Freddie Hubbard, JJ Johnson, Tom Harrell, Frank Rosolino, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Urbie Green, Eje Thelin, Nat Adderley to just name a few great brass jazz soloists of yorn...I figure that's what I'd like to aspire too...

As for classical players I'm very aware of the fact that most can't improvise in that sense, I just mentioned it as a frame of reference in regards to technical proficiency, to say that the tuba is too clumsy to play Be-Bop phrases, for instance, is silly after having heard players like Øisten Baadsvik etc...

As far as not being open to "not all jazz being just post BeBop background radio stuff" I don't even know where that came from...

...and where the notion of post be-bop jazz being "background radio stuff" comes from...

John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Ornette Coleman, "background radio stuff"? I think not!

There are many forms of improvisation and there are some really good players that have a more free approach and that sound great...

The point I'm making is that there's a surprising deficit of tuba players that can really blow on changes, I'd have expected there to be more of us being interested in exploring that path!!

Cheers

//Mattis

[David Richoux]

OK, the radio background music comment was not quite right - I was trying to say what the popular current conception of Jazz is to the general population - some sort of Kenny G-ish improvised junk that is just something to be played in the background like Generic Pop Music...

but there are many post Swing era real jazz tuba soloists (and leaders) who have taken the tuba voice in solos - I still say you have not been looking very hard!

For example:
Howard Johnson
Bob Stewart
Red Callender
Ray Draper
Michel Godard (he also plays "classical")
as mentioned earlier: Marcus Rojas
Matt Perrine
Kirk Joseph
Nat Mcintosh
Jon Sass
Jim Self

There are many others, maybe not as well known or recorded, but they are out there! Not just laying down the bass line (which is important) but also taking solos sometimes the equal of anything Øisten does, usually without rehearsals! Sure, the speed of the instrument is not going to be equal to a Soprano Sax or trumpet most of the time, but in the right hands it is not a ponderous thing.

Maybe a better comparison would be Jazz Double Bass players - how many of them can do exactly what a tuba can do?

[quesonegro]

Of course I know of these players, they are all outstanding musicians and hell of a lot better tuba players than I'll ever be! I'm not looking to put anyone down in any way!

To imply that the reason I disagree with you is due to lack of knowledge, however, is conceited, to say the least!

//Mattis

[David Richoux]

Mattis -
On a forum like this it is hard to determine knowledge levels in a discussion without knowing the poster's story. The topic of Jazz tuba players has come up many times before and it seemed like you were ignoring the history of the players that have had a lot to do with the music style in question. To say they couldn't be considered "equal" to the other jazz luminaries you listed is an interesting point, and it possibly shows a bias that is not proven.
I am not a jazz musicologist, historian or critic, just a musician who has been playing jazz tuba for quite a while, plus I had a weekly jazz radio program (that often featured tuba players) for about 30 years. I don't want a big flame war on the subject - I was just trying to say that there are recognised tuba players in and around the mainstream of jazz that are worth knowing about, and the world of jazz is a very broad subject that can have many participants - even if they just play the tuba.

[quesonegro]

I'm not denying anyone to take part in whatever scene they want to, nor am I saying that tuba should not have a part in jazz, quite the opposite actually, I think there should be many more jazz tuba voices in the world, which was exactly my point, that there are so few jazz tuba players out there, and I don't mean jazz tuba player as in "playing tuba in band that plays jazz", I mean players that improvise, have their own musical/harmonic concept, make records, have their own bands etc...I think people should do what they like and enjoy and I don't expect anyone to follow a path that is not their own...I just think that as the tuba has evolved and progressed in the classical field, I'd expect something similar in the jazz department, regardless of genre, and I don't see that yet...

I know of no other instrument where someone would call themselves a "jazz player" unless they also improvise, usually being able to play over changes, unless you're part of the free scene...I think we should aim higher, just as the jazz trombone has made huge leaps the last 50 years!

As to forums and knowing what level of knowledge someone has, that is certainly true. You have no reason to know who I am and I also knew nothing about you. I didn't, however, assume that your knowledge of jazz was limited to Kenny G etc, or argued that your opinions were based on ignorance!

//Mattis Cederberg (Bass trombone/Tuba/Cimbasso - WDR Big Band. I work full time in a german radio big band and have recorded with artists like Joe Zawinul, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Michael and Randy Brecker (with whom the band received a grammy), Jon Faddis, Eddie Daniels, Mike Manieri, Arturo Sandoval, Toots Thielemans, James Moody, Lee Konitz, Dianne Reeves, Avishai Cohen, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Benny Golson, Maria Schneider, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Wycliffe Gordon, Tom Harrell and many, many others.)