I don't know how I missed this band but I'd never heard of them until I was looking at the results of the Grammys a few weeks ago. Since then I've probably listened to this record 40 or 50 times. I can't get enough of it. While I'm sad The Phat Band didn't get a nomination (The Gordian Knot is outstanding) I'm happy that someone is representing modern big band jazz with pride and ability.
Dig. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMHLjUzaCsWA0lS4AVtMroqiDJ2NjNqTE
-tj
Following a frustratingly long turn around time for having the lead pipe repair, I got my Miyashiro back last weekend. As I mentioned, I had the lacquer stripped after the repair.
Back home in my studio I sat down and set out to run through my daily routine (Irons Method, Clarke's, running my maj/min/dom7 and blues scales) and after 5 or 10 minutes of getting my chops warm (if not completely ready) I had a realization that I did not expect; I'm working harder to make notes on this than I do on my Committee.
Now, I'm a re-entry player of intermediate skill level, and I'm not enough in tune with my approach to my playing to be aware of how I am changing it to match a given horn. I know that I do, whether it's air support, embouchure, speed and volume of air, or even my posture, but I don't know the details of those details. I know that I can produce pianissimo notes, low in the register, on my Committee with gentle, precise attacks. And even though some of the note transitions (depending on valves used) are sometimes not as effortless as they are on other horns, I know how to manage my air to make them more precise. It was a shock to me that the Yamaha would be harder for me to play than the Committee, but then I felt that way about the Committee when I first got it, following a year of playing the Japanese horn.
I got the Martin out and played some passages back to back on both horns, before returning to the Miyashiro for the rest of my routine. My lead suggested perhaps I had been opening my embouchure up to play the Martin, and that the Yamaha doesn't respond as well to that. I'm not experienced enough to weigh in on that.
I'm not looking for any deep truths or discoveries here. Perhaps the takeaway is simply that within the broad spectrum of trumpet design and playing characteristics, the Committee is probably the one which is the outlier. I don't know that I'd have the same experience if I'd been playing my Benge or Olds for three months and returned to the Yamaha.
We'll see what the coming days and weeks bring.
-tj
I got the call. After three months my horn is back and ready for me to pick up. It will be very interesting to play it again because since I dropped it off at the music store last October I have been playing my Committee exclusively.
On our way to NAMM my lead (who also plays a Miyashiro, which also has red rot) and I stopped by Bob Reeves Brass for valve checks/alignments. My Committees valves were of by negative 9 thousands (on the upstroke) on two and 10 thousandths on one. Daniel's Miyashiro was off by nearly thirty thou and as we did not have time to get both horns' valves aligned I let him get his done. I did blow a few notes on his horn and other than the fact it's a silver horn, it felt fairly similar to mine, but after months on the Martin it was quite an experience. I love the sound of my Martin but you definitely have to work harder on it. I will likely return to my Yamaha for the big band ensemble stuff as my skill level dictates that I should use the most efficient horn I can find, and the Yamaha his that.
While they had the horn apart for the lead pipe replacement I asked them to strip the lacquer so I'll likely have the only raw brass Miyashiro in North America. It will also be interesting to see if the quality of the sound changes at all, although again, after 3 months I'm not sure how much of a critical faculty I'll have for such things.
I'll report back tomorrow afternoon!
-tj
Yeah, our experience at the concert was gnarly.
WRT the new LA, my lead is more interested in it that I am for obvious reasons. I’m pretty happy with my Miyashiro, or I was until I sent it off to have the lead pipe replaced (red rot). It’s been three months now and my Committee has become my daily ax, so it will be interesting to see how I feel about my Yamaha. I did play Dan’s Miyashiro after he got the valves aligned by the guys at Bob Reeves and it was impressive. The modern horns are just more efficient and accurate, even if they lack that Committee sound that is apparently impossible to replicate perfectly.
-tj
@flugelgirl said in NAMM 2020:
@tjveloce seems a couple of our posts disappeared with the update! Anyhow, Yamaha concert last year was kind of lame, so a couple of coworkers and I skipped it and went to Disneyland. We had a blast! Heard a much better band there than we’d heard at the Conn-Selmer party Wednesday night
.
As for the new LA, got to hold it in my hands but not play it - I have a feeling it will be a great horn. Just a touch of added weight and that new valve block will bring a few nice changes, I suspect, even though the old one plays very well.
As far as the Adams A9 vs A4, you might have really liked the large bore A9. I love the A4, but had one on a trial for a couple of weeks and found it to be far too heavy for me. It hurt my hands and back, and didn’t project well enough for my needs. It was wonderful to play changes on, though! In any case, I like the A4LT much better. Lighter valve block, heavier bell, and can do anything for me except play lead. My A1 can do it all, but I miss the tonal colors I get from the A4LT for soloing, and the majority of the sub gigs I do require improv and relief lead. I think this new A1 is going to bridge that gap - seems to be everything I have in both other horns! I’ll find out in April.....
@flugelgirl said in NAMM 2020:
@SSmith1226 I didn’t get to do much playing at Yamaha due to other commitments- it’s kind of a pain that they are in such a separate spot from everything else! I did get to have a great conversation with Wayne Bergeron when I was over there for our dealer meeting, though. He had the finalized version of the gen II LA, which looks fantastic! It’s got the same valve block as the new Shew, but they anneal it a bit differently. It also has heavy phosphor bronze bottom caps. He had to pull it out of his personal case to show me - that was pretty awesome! I’m pleased to say I was able to have a constructive adult conversation and didn’t fangirl squeal once!
I have played the gen I and II Vizutti - I like the gen II much better. To me it plays kind of in between the New York and Chicago - a bit of both worlds there.
Our meeting with Yamaha went very well, and we will have more great stuff on the way soon! All of the companies we are a dealer for treated us so well - we must be pretty important to them
My lead and I were hoping to see Wayne's new horn. We talked to him at Yoshi's last fall and he said they were in the final stages of it's design. I know he played it on The Gordian Knot and at the gig, and it sounds amazing, but then....Wayne.
Anyway, we were disappointed it wasn't there, and also to learn that it likely won't be out for quite a while longer. Apparently they only just finalized its design and they've not begun production. I'm not interested in it for anything but curiosity. It's not a horn for me, but it would be interesting to compare it to my Miyashiro. The horn I'm smitten with is the Adams A4, the heavy one with a large bore. It felt more like my Committee than any of the Committee replicas at the show.
Glad you got to chat with Wayne....did you hear him with the band Friday night? We heard them sound checking but were too cold, hungry, and tired to stick around for the show.
-tj
I’m sorry we didn’t connect. I spent a lot of time with Josh and Kyle in the Adams area. I played almost every single horn on their racks but am in love with the A4. I love their Sonic Flugelhorn as well as the F1 lightweight. The large bore heavy weight A4 felt more like my Committee than any other horn that I played, but their “Committee” was delightful as well (it was a medium bore).
Other horns that impressed where the Schilke “Committee and their flugelhorn, and some of the BAC models.
My first NAMM was a great experience. It’s probably not an every year event for me but I do hope to attend again in the future.
-tj
I struggled for a few minutes trying to decide where to post this topic. There were not obvious places in “Pedagogy” and “Instruments” didn’t really seem proper either. I ended up here because my belief is that the jazz idiom (the one in which I play) seems the most open to individual expression through timbre.
The question, or at least the discussion is, “what is the sound that you aim to produce when you play your horn, and how did you decide that’s how you wanted to sound?” “And then, how do you achieve that sound?”
It’s easy to go down a philosophical rathole here, because not only are there myriad components that determine our sound, some of which are beyond our control (our physical attributes such as body type, dentition, etc.) but also influences and equipment. If you grew up listening to Ray Nance play in the Ellington band you might like his sound. If you grew up listening to Miles in the early days, another kind of sound quality might have melted your butter. And of course in the modern era, recording techniques have sometimes artificially effected the sound coming out of the bell of a horn that can be tricky to record accurately.
My belief is that few of us possess the innate ability to produce a “natural sound.” I believe the trumpet is a complex and physically challenging enough instrument, that only the truly exceptional may be able to create a sound that is consistent with what listeners want to listen to, and that is entirely independent of outside direction. If you practice Irons, Abrams, or Clarke’s, or any of the other myriad fundamentals books in print, you will, inevitably, develop a tone that comes from playing those exercises.
My view is that we hear a trumpet player whose sound moves us, and then we hear others whose sounds don’t. Since listening, not just to others in the ensemble, but to ourselves as well, is so important as a musician (especially a brass player), we begin to attempt to make the sound that comes out of the horn mimic what we hear when we listen to Wayne, or Chris, or Maynard, or Miles. Fine, so I’m joking about Miles, no one could sound like him.
Please weigh in on those thoughts, and then if you so desire, share what the sound quality you aim for, and how you get it. It’s a given that regardless of the many different qualities a trumpet can make, all require a certain approach. Moving lots of warm air with a taut embouchure, relaxed body, and effective breathing are imperatives. Past that, how do you get the sound you want?
Personally, the first trumpet players I really listened to were those in Kenton’s early bands, and as a soloist, Herb Alpert. Despite being impressed with young Maynard’s theatrics, as a soloist, there was something about Herb’s soft, understated, almost always round (El Solo Toro is one exception) tone that I dug, even at age 7. Later, when I heard Miles for the first time, I felt like I’d rediscovered that sound.
And so the sound that just slays me when I hear it, the one that feels like my voice, is that warm, round, soft, compact, never edgy, tone that touches you in a way you can’t describe. The attacks are analogous to a soft mallet on a vibraphone, rather than a stick on a tom. Dominick Farinacci has it. So did Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Miles in his early days and on many of his ballads, and Chris Botti.
Personally I find it easier to produce a sound that is not what I want than it is to do the opposite. Playing with the kind of “touch” I describe requires a restrained intensity in order to produce. Lots of air support but less volume, attention to every attack, and the tonal quality once its being made. Relaxed body and open jaw, but firm embouchure and a constant evaluation of the sound.
Since my Miyashiro has been at Yamaha for repair I’ve been playing my Committee exclusively. Where I used to use it only for solo work, it’s become my daily ax for the past 3 months. The Yamaha just worked better in the big band as far as ensemble sound, and is a more efficient horn. But that doesn’t make it necessarily better. The last time I blew notes through a Miyashiro (not mine) it felt foreign to me. What used to be a bat with a couple donuts on it, is now my “normal.” That horn, with a Monette B6 S1 mouthpiece in the lead pipe helps me make notes that I consider “pretty” and which help get me to my desired quality of sound. When I play other horns, it’s nearly impossible. Of course, there is nothing that sounds like a large bore Committee, but some come closer than others.
Please share your thoughts on these ideas, and respond if you so desire with the qualities that inspire you.
-tj in the Cruz Mtns
@flugelgirl said in Martin Committee Club:
Wow, those are definitely not homes paid for as musicians! We are fortunate that we’ve saved and planned well, and bought and sold houses at most of our duty stations. In our area south of Seattle that gets us a Nice 1980 ranch In an affordable price range. The same size 50s ranch in SoCal cost us about $50k less, and our 50s Cape Cod in Norfolk about $100k less. New homes in developments near us start at $500k, while similar homes in Woodinville near my work start at 1.1mil. Our house would be worth at least twice it’s current value if it were in that area with no other changes to house or lot! This isn’t the most affordable place to live, but it sure does feel like home. We could have bought a house with cash in my hometown area and still have had plenty of savings, but what an awful place for musicians to live! It’s all about happiness in the end.
So what you're saying is "location matters?" = ) It's hard when natives see such drastic changes in their home town, city, or state. As a native Californian, going on my 54th year, the Bay Area (and the state) have changed drastically in my life. We're holding on as long as we can.
-tj
@Kehaulani Normally we do too.....but our property has a view that cannot ever be taken away, which counts for something because we put up with a good amount of risk (we're in wildfire country) just for that view.
-tj
@barliman2001 I suppose it's heartening to know that North America is not the only place with bureaucracy! Thanks for sharing.
-tj
@Dr-GO said in Martin Committee Club:
@tjveloce said in Martin Committee Club:
...share photos of the home and property.-tj
This room DEFINITELY says TRUMPET PLAYER lives here. Trumpet on the floor next to the piano to transcribe those trumpet parts... And Miles on the wall... That says it all tj-Committee Club Member extraordinaire!
Thanks Doc-my office usually has a lot more in it trumpet related, but if all you're going have is one horn, why not have it be a Committee?
-tj
@OldSchoolEuph said in Martin Committee Club:
@tjveloce Wow- that house is amazing. Any more interior pics (trying to steal your plans ...)?
Thanks OS Euph...we are blessed to call this place home. This is probably the easiest way to share photos of the home and property.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/21854-Bear-Creek-Rd-Los-Gatos-CA-95033/16160474_zpid/
-tj
@barliman2001 Wow...that's impressive. So you live in Austria? We're the opposite of you as we're at 1900 feet and our biggest natural disaster threat is from wildfires.
-tj
That's super cool! What style of architecture is your home? We live in a Craftsman that was built using the Gamble House in Pasadena as inspiration. I love Craftsman aesthetic but also really love Spanish Villa and Mid-Century Modern.
-tj
@flugelgirl said in NAMM-who’s going?:
I’ll be there Wed-Sun with the team from work
Will you guys have a booth there? It would be great to meet you in person!
-tj
I agree....and there's just something about vintage horns, including the fact that they have so much character and mana from their previous lives. But I like lots of vintage things.
-tj
@Dr-GO Ah! So was it too loose? If so, then what he did was knurl it, which raises the surface just a bit. Engine builders do this to pistons sometime to help them retain oil on the skirts.
-tj
