Posts made by administrator

@georgeb said in Tough Decision to make:

@administrator

I have some great horns in my collection. Each has its own characteristics that I love, but one stands out amongs them all, and that is the 1940 Olds Recording I added recently. Whatever kind of music, from classical to country, you want to play, the Olds just gets the job done. I know this sounds crazy, but it is as it plays itself and you are just along for the ride.
George

I don't think that's crazy at all. I have known several people who feel that way about them.

These are all great responses. I think I may take a trip to our friend Jamie's gallery, or perhaps Austin Custom Brass and find my "dream" horn there.

The point about Yamaha's being all the same is duly noted. However, part of the reason I like them so much is how easy they are to play. I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of "character" in my sound in order to make playing easier. I don't practice enough these days to muscle through all the quirks of a horn. Get my drift?

The other thing with a Yamaha is you can buy one, sight-unseen, used or new, off the Internet and worry about nothing. I don't feel this way about any other brand except for perhaps the boutique brands like Blackburn, Monette, etc.

@barliman2001 said in Greetings from Florida's Jazz Scene:

@administrator As to "a basement chock full of trumpets"... I once knew a guy in Ireland who collected Martin Committees... had the house full of them. When I met him (some fifteen years ago), the count stood at 565 (yes, indeed, five hundred and sixty five Committees), all of them unplayed, still in the original cellophane wrapping, with factory papers and everything. He could not even play (clarinet guy)...

Unbelievable! Now, if that man sold his trumpets for, let's say, $3000 a piece (a VERY modest sum if they are what you say they are) he would have made $1.7M off those horns.

By the way -- your comment about "that guy" I can totally relate with. I met "that guy" some years back when I went to Rochester, New York. I can't remember his name now, but I think it was Joe Pera. Anyway, he had a whole basement chock full of trumpets! Amazing.

@JamieJazz are all the trumpets listed in your "gallery" section for sale?

I'm looking to get back into trumpet. I really want to do it, this time. It's been more than 7 years and I'm antsy to play again.

I am now doing much better, financially speaking, than I have in the past. I am very grateful to be where I am. I want to buy myself a nice horn. I'm torn between two.

I have been thinking of picking up a Blackburn or a Yamaha Chicago. Both are great and a used Blackburn is about the same price as a new Yamaha. The Blackburn is a "dream" horn I have always wanted since I was in high school. When I went to ITG conferences, Blackburn was there and I always liked their horns the best.

Now, however, Yamaha has been producing some crazy good horns. Last time I played one I was just stunned with how good it is. This is the new YTR-9335CHS I think is the model.

The other thing is, too, that when I was in college I was 100% classical. I wanted to be an orchestral guy. That didn't happen but I still love music and want to maybe branch out, be more versatile.

So now, I am torn. Do I go for a custom, boutique "dream" horn, or the solidly reliable Yamaha?

I am convinced that "perfect" is not a thing in music. Yes, it is true that some performances are objectively better in every dimension, but you reach a point where it mostly comes down to musical taste / interpretation....alignment of the planets? Who knows, but that's part of the joy of music. Spontaneity is the spice of life, and I don't just mean jazz, I just mean the intricacies of live performance.

@barliman2001 said in AR Resonance Mouthpieces:

@administrator They are related in that Adam Rapa had a hand in some of the designs and is endorsing them. That may not be in their favour - I just don't like Adam Rapa (for personal reasons: I was once entered in one of his master classes, and he ended it one day short, before I was even due to attend... did not get a single cent back because of a clause in the contract saying that if the master class needed to be shortened for artistic reasons, that was the risk of the participant. I do understand why his wife of the time, singer Elisabeth Vik, divorced him shortly afterwards).

What does being shortened for "artistic reasons" mean? Like, he got a last minute gig that paid better?

I have to wonder, how Chet would have been had he not been a junkie. True, he likely would have lived longer and been a more consistent musician. However, some of the "misery" in his music is what makes it special. It's a very strange thought.

@jamiejazz said in An Unusual Chet Baker Artifact?:

Chet Baker: A most unusual artifact?

I never placed it on my gallery website, but I actually had an old Cuesnon flugelhorn that I bought in a shady exchange in a Florida parking lot. Yuck, I know! But the horn was said to have been in the possession of a Hermosa Beach trumpet-playing doctor by the name of Kempe who had "helped out" Chet Baker back in the day. After the doctor passed away, his son-in-law came into possession of the horns and sold them off one-by-one behind a truck stop in Jacksonville. Like I said--yuck! Still the details of the story, including names and places, seemed to line up. I kept it in my gallery without making any announcements because I knew I could never actually verify the tale.

Normally, nobody gives much thought to trying some of the older and uglier horns in the gallery. They want to get right to the "good stuff", but it happened last Saturday that someone did see the old flugelhorn on the bottom shelf and asked to play it. He fell in love with it and then I told him the story I had heard, clarifying that I could not verify any of it. Still, he loved it so I went to retrieve its case so he could take it home.

When we opened the case, a plastic box reading Dulcolax, Geigy “Predictable Bowel Evacuation” fell out. We all laughed as I took the box back to my office and began the paperwork. Actually, my inner fifth-grader was absolutely rolling on the floor! But as I wrote up the paperwork and looked at the box on my desk, I thought “you know, nobody advertises with language like that anymore.” Today, Dulcolax would soften the language to read something like “Predictable Relief,” not “Bowel Evacuation.” I typed in the name “Geigy.” It turns out that, although Dulcolax is still in pharmacies, Geigy pharmaceuticals only existed from 1959-1969, after which it merged with Ciba to become Ciba-Geigy. This box was a 1960s artifact! I then considered the former contents of the box. Why would anyone carry a whole box of laxatives in his trumpet case? The answer hit me several minutes later; Chet was a notorious addict and his favorite drug was heroine. Although we might not usually think about these things, severe constipation is a common side effect of chronic heroin use. Can this prove that this was once Chet’s flugelhorn in a court of law? No. But I think we may have enough to suggest the possibility and maybe add a little more inspiration to our quest for wonderful instruments. Cheers!

Does it add "resale value"?

Fanfare for the Common Man:

That would go over well in Colombia. Puns are like their religion here.

@Seth-of-Lagos that's true, I loved the playing of Maurice Murphey. Being a well-rounded musician is always a good thing.

I think that's a pTrumpet, yes?

https://www.dpreview.com/news/1941980593/nvidia-research-creates-ai-tool-to-convert-series-of-2d-images-into-impressive-3d-models

Anyway, it's neat. Not sure how useful it would be for trumpets but say you are animating a series about jazz, you could now easily get the exact trumpet historical figures played (say Miles Davis' own Martin Committee).

Question: does this sound like a standard Cornet? To me, it looks more like it plays and sounds like a flugelhorn.

https://jamiestrumpetgallery.com/monette-cornette/

When I finally get around to ACTUALLY playing again I'll pay your shop a visit. I'm in South America right now and all flights go through Florida so it's actually a pretty easy destination to get to.

That's good. Your site looks good. Normally, I would not suggest somebody have white text on a black background but in your case, it fits. Jazz is often something performed in a "dark and smoky" place so it gives a nice atmosphere.

I like the fact that you specialize in "jazz" horns, although you and I know that definition can be a bit fuzzy at times!

I'm curious if you've got some SEO work being done. That would increase your customer base substantially.

I just see the lips and mouthpiece as one system -- you can't separate them, just like you can't separate the mouthpiece from the reed on a saxophone.

Looks like a baby black bear...better watch out as the momma might be nearby!