Post 571: TRUMPET NOTES HIGH ON STEROIDS

When you are in your eighties and still trying to play the trumpet, you have to keep things simple. You are unable to play very high notes because your lips have lost their strength.

Lionel Ferbos is my inspiration. He went on playing in New Orleans almost right up to his death at the age of 103. In his final years he kept things very simple indeed, using only the lower notes. And yet he was still playing some very pretty traditional jazz. 

Lionel Ferbos, who died in 2014.

All was fine with me until recently, when my legs and arms rapidly became very weak and I was feeling unusually tired most days. I hardly had the strength to lift a trumpet to my lips; and my walk became a slow shuffle.

I put it down to old age. But Mrs. Pops Coffee ordered me to see the doctor; and it is never a good idea to disobey Mrs. Pops Coffee.

Blood tests showed I had polymyalgia rheumatica – something of which I had never heard. My doctor prescribed a course of steroids – 15 mg. a day of Prednisolone, to be exact, with the intention of reducing the dose a little in the weeks ahead.

How lucky I am to have such a doctor (and such a wife)! After a few days of the treatment I was able to walk steadily again, to hold my trumpet and to need less sleep.

Yesterday when I was doing what I pretentiously call practice, I discovered to my amazement that I was able to play some of those high notes above the stave. They sounded rather squeaky but they were there all right. I can only put this down to the steroids which must have strengthened my lips as well as my arms and legs. Another curious side-effect has been that my fingernails and toenails are growing much more quickly than before and need trimming every couple of days.

However, I have no intention of using my new-found steroid-induced ability to attempt high notes when playing with my friends in traditional jazz bands.

In my view, traditional jazz with a soul does not require trumpets producing lots of raucous high notes which seem to be mere exhibitionism and do not contribute much to the beauty of the music, especially in ensemble work.

Think of Shaye Cohn. She is probably the best and most creative traditional jazz cornet player in the world today and yet she opts for subtle, inventive musical phrases that rarely go above the stave. In fact, having listened to her in about 450 videos, I have never heard her play a note higher than Concert A above the stave. Music theorists call it 'A5', equivalent to vibrations at 880 times per second (880 Hz). You can hear Shaye using this note when playing Dallas Rag.

Shaye is an example to us all. There are trumpeters who can frequently be heard squeezing out notes at 1046 Hz (the note called 'C5') and even higher. But what's the point?
============
I must add the footnote that in January 2018 we finally heard Shaye play a high Bb (in Echo in the Dark). This was not mere exhibitionism. She was merely copying precisely the trumpet lead in the original recording of this pretty tune by The Original St. Louis Crackerjacks.

Post 551: THE NEW ORLEANS OWLS 1922 - 1929

The best-known picture of The New Orleans Owls.

In addition to the bands of Sam Morgan and Armand Piron, and The Halfway House Orchestra, another band that made recordings in New Orleans during the 1920s was The New Orleans Owls.

Apparently a group called The Invincibles String Band had been formed in New Orleans in 1912 and it included seven musicians (Johnny Wiggs, Eblen Rau, Benjy White, Rene Gelpi, Monk Smith, Earl Crumb and Mose Ferrar) who went on to form The New Orleans Owls.

Their music was elaborately arranged and sweet rather than raw. But it was very dance-able and impeccable-sounding. Tampeekoe is a good example. You may sample it by clicking here.

The band made about twenty recordings between 1925 and 1927, 13 of them in New Orleans. Several of the tunes were original compositions by members of the band and – while usually having more than one theme – these tunes essentially use 16-bar and 32-bar harmonic structures that have become familiar in so many of the tunes from the 1920s that have always been loved by traditional jazz bands.

The New Orleans Owls flourished between 1922 and 1929, performing for dancers in the hotel ballrooms of New Orleans - notably the Hotel Roosevelt. Though they normally performed as a seven-piece, twenty-two different musicians were members of the band over those years. The most distinguished were perhaps Benjamin White (reeds and leader), Bill Padron (cornet), Frank Netto (trombone), Nappy Lamare (banjo), Dan LeBlanc (tuba), Pinky Vidacovitch (clarinet and sax) and Moses Farrar (piano).

You will find their style fairly sedate - even in such numbers as Blowing Off Steam and Dynamite. Everything is tidy and controlled, just right for elegant ballroom dancing.

Even in Meat on the Table (essentially a Bill Bailey variant), where there is a fair amount of room for improvisation, the emphasis is on charm and neatness rather than adventure. Click here to sample it.

Their music is energetic and lively within a tight, disciplined framework. The tunes are carefully structured, with introductions, modulations and breaks.

This is a band to divide opinions among traditional jazz fans. Some will say their music shows just how traditional jazz should sound; others will say it is not exactly gutsy: it lacks 'rawness' and risk-taking. But we have to remember The New Orleans Owls did not include the word 'Jazz' in their name. Their task was to accompany and please people who, in the 1920s, were elegantly dancing fox-trots. And they did that job supremely well.

Post 465: DAVID JELLEMA'S CORNETS

I have written before about the pleasure I had in meeting that fine cornet player David Jellema in New Orleans one evening in October 2016. At the time, he was playing a cornet manufactured in 1893! It is the cornet you see in the photo above. The manufacturer was the English Besson Company. The model is a 'Prototype' and its serial number 48XXX. When it was made, the Besson Company operated from 198 Euston Road in London; and the instruments were distributed in the United States by Carl Fischer in New York. David bought this instrument from an antique shop in Annapolis, Maryland, which is where the US Naval Academy is. So he surmises that it might long ago have been played by someone in the Navy band there.

But David also has other remarkable cornets. He owns a Conn Wonder, manufactured in 1891. He tells me this is also in pristine condition! And David has two Conn Victors, dating from 1929 and 1934. The 1929 is immaculate, with original case, tools, slide grease, lyre, and even the original care instructions (and the serial number stamped on it!).

The 1934 model was owned by David years ago. He sold it - but bought it back in about 2013. 

'But,' said David, 'my main horn is a 1965 Getzen Eterna, medium bore, originally bought and owned by Chicago's Jazz Limited trumpet player, Don Ingle (a son of Red Ingle; took lessons from Red Nichols). It was sold to the Bixian cornetist Tom Pletcher in about 1971 or 1972 so he could play it in the bands The Jackpine Savages and The Sons of Bix. When he decided to switch to a large bore, Pletcher sold it to me in 1992. I have many recordings and pictures of Pletcher playing this horn. In fact it was hearing Tom (son of trumpeter Stewart "Stu" or "Stew" Pletcher) live that turned me on to playing this music. (I had heard Bix Beiderbecke's Since My Best Gal only the summer before.) Manufactured shortly after I was born, it was originally bought at Getzen a day before Doc Severinson bought one as well.'

There are plenty of YouTube videos in which you can hear David performing. I think his cornet-playing is particularly tasteful in this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y10fMUIRd2s

Post 445: MEETING DAVID JELLEMA, JAZZ CORNET PLAYER

I first noticed and admired the cornet player David Jellema in 2014, when on YouTube I discovered videos of The Thrift Set Orchestra, which is based in Austin, Texas. David was playing some fine music in the company of other outstanding musicians - among them, Albanie Falletta, Westen Borghesi and Jonathan Doyle. If you don't know this group, you may sample one of their performances BY CLICKING HERE.

But I didn't meet David until 20 October 2016 when, during a very brief visit to New Orleans, I literally bumped into him. I pushed open the door to the Yuki Izakaya Bar in Frenchmen Street, and David was immediately on the other side. He was guesting in Haruka Kikuchi's Band.

During the interval, David kindly and generously joined me for a very interesting chat.

In particular we discussed how he goes about mastering tunes and improvising upon them. He felt that, although it is obviously crucial to know the tune's melody and its chords, it becomes more important to internalize those elements (relegating them to the subconscious through repetition and practice - to the point where you would be able to play the song even in an unfamiliar key). With the music thus internalized, the conscious mind can be free to engage with the immediate demands of the performance in the present, i.e., listening and responding to the other musicians, making split-second choices within a solo, etc.

Beyond mastering the scales and arpeggios of chord shapes and inversions in all keys, David said, what is most important in developing jazz improvisational language, style, and a personal voice is to study many masters (by copious listening, transcribing, and copying their solos and licks) in order to let their influence percolate into your playing as you mature into your own voice.   The music you most love will help inform and shape your first steps towards developing your own improvisational style. In his own case, he said the most important master had been Bix Beiderbecke.

I was not surprised. In his fluency, creativity, attack, tone and technique, David's playing always reminds me of Bix.

But here's something astonishing. David plays a cornet that is over 120 years old; and he still gets a beautiful tone from it. The cornet is an 1893 English Besson, a vintage 'Prototype' (serial number 48XXX). David knows that F. Besson was at the time located at 198, Euston Road, London; and that the instruments were distributed in the USA by Carl Fischer of New York. David bought this cornet from an antique store in Annapolis, Maryland, in the 1990s. As the US Naval Academy is based in Annapolis, David surmises that the instrument may originally have been played by someone in the Navy band.

After a few years, David passed the cornet on to his friend Dave Sager, a jazz trombone player in the DC area. Mr. Sager spent a deal of money in having it brought back to a pristine condition. Since about 2011, it has been back in the hands of David Jellema:

and from the other side:

But David has four other very special cornets, including a Conn from the 1890s. I hope - with David's help - to write an article about them for publication early in 2017.

I remember hearing the late great British jazz trumpet-player Humphrey Lyttelton say that some instruments (such as Stradivari violins) improve with age but that brass instruments begin to deteriorate from the first time they are played and go on getting worse.

Well, David's cornets seem to discredit that theory. Or perhaps it is simply that they really knew how to make solid and enduring brass instruments in the Victorian Age.

Post 367: JAZZ ART - WHEN YOUR GRAND-DAUGHTER SKETCHES YOUR CORNET

My grand-daughter Marianne, aged just 17, made this pencil sketch featuring my Courtois Cornet.

Of course, I'm a very proud Granddad and hope Marianne will one day secure a job in which she will be able to use her considerable artistic talents.

Post 258: SHAYE COHN'S MOZARTIAN QUALITIES

I have said before that Shaye Cohn's playing reminds me of Mozart. In particular, it makes me think of the viola part in Mozart's string quartets.

Here's why. Mozart's quartets are like lively interesting well-informed conversations between four intelligent and sympathetic friends. If you study the viola's rôle in a Mozart string quartet, what do you discover? 

Extract from a Mozart String Quartet
 - highlighting the Viola's rôle.

The viola sometimes takes the lead (playing the melody, you could say) but more often you find it responding, commenting cleverly and perceptively on the remarks of the others, coming up with surprising original thoughts, sparkling and witty, or sad, sympathetic and pensive as the occasion demands. It can play very quickly, producing a lot of notes rapidly when there is something exciting to say. But the viola does not show off or attempt to dominate. It both compliments and complements the contributions of the other instruments.

Mozart (1756 - 1791)

Shaye's playing in any jazz ensemble is exactly like that. She is not a showy player. Not from her will you hear those screaming, raucous, high-note 32-bar solo choruses to which so many traditional jazz trumpeters resort (though she easily plays notes such as A5 [SPN] when the melody requires - as in Variety Stomp and Dallas Rag). One of my readers emailed me to say he watches her solos 'with anticipation. What comes next? Her playing is so unpredictable'. I know exactly what he means. The rest of us can play corny cliché-ridden improvisations but Shaye seems effortlessly to come up with phrases that are magical and stunning in their originality.

She is so energetic in her playing and her thinking. One of my regular correspondents - Lou in the USA - has twice sent me emails in praise of Shaye; and they are worth quoting:

I couldn't agree with you more. I find myself more and more separating her horn from the rest of the piece. I've discovered that she has a very versatile tongue. One just knows that she doesn't have to think about what's coming next for her. She may think ahead for the arrangement, but her playing just flows naturally. I can hear the little notes she drops here and there that she just has to do because they belong. 

and:
I marvel at her stamina in numbers like 'Weary Blues'. She just blows her heart out, all in such a matter of fact way.
I think Lou is absolutely right.

Shaye produces a unique tone that perfectly encapsulates the blues feeling that is at the heart of so much of our music. Listen closely to her busy fluent phrases, often muted and in the background, interwoven brilliantly into the polyphony of her band's wonderful music. That's why I am reminded of the viola in Mozart's string quartets.

Shaye has an instinctive understanding of rhythmic possibilities, subtle and surprising harmonies and progressions, even when improvising at high speed. She can 'bend' notes to great effect and in exactly the right places.

She always works hard to encourage great teamwork from the band, not just to display her own skills. Her playing takes account of (and usually directs) all that is going on around her.

Bearing in mind that she is not only brilliant on the cornet but is also one of the very best on the piano and violin (and is an arranger and a formidable composer - just think of Pyramid Strut and Tangled Blues, for example), I have to say I have not come across a traditional jazz musician who impresses me more than Shaye. She is simply the best.

Post 254: JAZZING ON MY YAMAHA MAESTRO CORNET

As someone who is interested in classic bicycles from several decades ago, I know there are many cycling enthusiasts who make, study and refer to databases of bicycle frame serial numbers so that, for example, they may know the year of manufacture of a vintage bicycle they have purchased.

But I have discovered the same thing goes on with brass musical instruments. After hearing that Shaye Cohn plays a very old Yamaha cornet, I checked on the Internet for information about the history of Yamaha cornets. I found there are enthusiasts who are building up databases of the various models Yamaha has produced over about 50 years and of their serial numbers. You can see how impressive such a database can by clicking on
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11UnDEHRTpaBRlG5CEO6h0Yb3VsDP5IadrIUvmOZNXSc/pub?single=true&gid=0&output=html

So I added to the database by submitting information about my own Yamaha cornet.

My Yamaha Maestro Bb cornet was purchased on 12 November 1996 from Myatt's Music Shop in Hitchin (north of London). The instrument is the model known as YCR 6335H. These details are imprinted on the casing of the middle valve. The unique serial number of my cornet is 201057. The word 'Maestro' is printed on the mouthpipe. At the base of the second valve - on the reverse side - are the words 'Yamaha Japan'. There is no engraving or printing on the bell.

Although I have two newer and more valuable cornets, my Yamaha Maestro seems to be the most easy-blowing. I have been using it a great deal recently.

Post 241: MUTES FOR CORNETS AND TRUMPETS

The word 'mute' is slightly misleading because it suggests silencing. Although most mutes do indeed reduce the decibel level, their true function is to alter the instrument's tone. They capture different moods and create different textures; and they produce 'jazzy' effects.

For anyone interested in adding mutes to their kit, I will offer you my thoughts about my collection. However, please bear in mind that what suits one player may not suit another.

Trombonists and tuba-players: please note that there is a similar range of these mutes available in larger sizes for you.

I will work from the right to the left in the picture above.

(1) Rubber PLUNGER mute. Manufacturer unknown. This is one of my favourites and I use it a great deal for traditional jazz. As it is so flexible, you can squeeze and hold it in various ways and positions to achieve a huge range of effects from the mellow to the raucous and growling.

(2) Humes and Berg 102 stonelined trumpet cup mute. This is another great favourite. It gives a crispness to the tone. And you can slightly vary the effects by holding it only partially inside the bell, rather than simply jamming it in by the corks. A great point in favour of this mute is that, unlike some, it does not distort the tuning of the notes you play: it is good over pretty well the full range. No wonder this mute is so popular with many traditional jazz players.

(3) Humes and Berg 112 stonelined PIXIE aluminium mute. This is also very good. The intonation of the instrument is unaffected by it; and the tone produced is relatively mellow, so it's specially good for simply playing quietly or for 'background effects' on ballads. It also makes interesting sounds when used in combination with a rubber plunger mute, though I haven't experimented much with it.

(4) Humes and Berg 101 stonelined trumpet straight mute. This is a very efficient mute: it does just what you would expect - it allows a bright but 'different' sound out past the corks down the sides. It also keeps all the notes in tune, without distortion. It's not exciting but it is safe and is typical of what most people would expect to hear when imagining a trumpet played with a mute.

(5) Humes and Berg 120 stonelined trumpet DERBY (red and white bowler hat) mute. So far I have been a little disappointed with this, particularly because it was expensive when bought four months ago and I can't get anywhere near the sound Ken Colyer used to achieve with his famous Derby mute. I think this is partly because is has a sort of felt lining rather than metal. But mainly it's because this mute needs a lot of practice to get the feel of the many effects you can achieve, depending on the precise position and angle at which you have it, in relation to your instrument's bell. You can deflect the sound in so many different ways. I have not yet felt confident enough to use it in public. But I can tell you that it too does not distort the tuning of notes and that it certainly can produce a huge range of jazz effects. You may find - as I am doing - that it is not easy to master.

(6) The distinctive HARMON mute (complete with pull-out wah-wah stem); manufacturer unknown (but marked with a 'K'). This can be used in a variety of ways. Remove the stem and you have the silky tone associated with Miles Davis. What happens is that it stifles the familiar trumpet sound that bounces mainly off the inside edges of the bell and allows out only the sound that is left coming out of the middle. But if you put the stem in, this gives the sound a metallic tube through which to escape. You achieve a sweet, 'distant', lovely tone that is ideal for gently playing spirituals. And, of course, if you're so inclined, you can use your fingers over the end of the stem to produce semi-comical wah-wah effects. I use this mute sparingly but it certainly offers something different.

(7) BUCKET mute of a kind (manufacturer unknown). This is heavily lined with what appears to be polystyrene padding. It has a stifling, blanket-like effect on the sound. At best, you could say it produces a 'velvet' tone. I don't find this much use, so it hardly ever gets used.

(8) Humes and Berg 'color-tone' straight mute. I think Humes and Berg may have discontinued the manufacture of this mute, which is just as well, because if you want a straight mute you are far better off buying the one I described under No. (4) above. I think this 'color-tone' was made from cheaper materials. There's nothing wrong with it but it doesn't offer anything special for public performance. It would be fine as a first mute for a beginner. I use mine simply for keeping the sound down when practising within earshot of other people.

Bear in mind too that, even with my eight mutes, I am well short of the full range available.

So much for my impressions. But if you would like to have a terrific YouTube tutorial on mute usage - yes, this is really good - from a great expert, click on this video:

CLICK HERE.

Post 203: MUTES, MUSICIAN DEAFNESS, HEARING YOUSELF

Here's an interesting correspondence that occurred recently between bandleader Mr. A, trumpet-player Mr. B and trumpet-player Mr. C.

=============================

Hello B and C,

How are you? I hope you are getting lots of gigs.

As you know, we have Mr. D .. in our band playing trumpet and he says he is going deaf (although I don't think he is as deaf as I am). Anyway, he says he can't hear himself when we play outside.

I have noticed that you sometimes play into a metal dish that presumably reflects the sound back to you. Am I right? If so what is it and where can he buy one and how much does it cost, please?

Best wishes,

A.

===============================

Hi A, 

Hope all is well with you.

No one realises what we trumpet players go through. When you play, the sound from the trumpet goes away from you and as you are directly behind it you don’t really hear yourself until it strikes a surface and returns to your ear (trumpet is even worse than cornet because of its length). That is why Dizzy Gillespie bent the bell of his horn up into the air.

Sometimes when the drummer, amplified keyboard, amplified guitar, amplified bass and ringing banjo are blithely roaring away and on one side the trombone and on the other the reedman are blowing in towards you, it’s near impossible to hear yourself without blasting away at ffff.

Playing outside is even more difficult. People then comment on how loud the trumpet is and think he doesn’t need a mike and wonder why can’t he play with more sensitivity and more pppp.

When you play with mikes, a monitor or fold-back system will cure this problem and the whole band can hear each other and play in a more balanced and sensitive way.

When playing without amplification, any device or method that reflects the sound back to you can perform a similar function.

Sometimes you’ll see a trumpet player suddenly hold his hand over the bell, not necessarily for a special sound effect but to simply hear himself.

Metal hats, plastic-covered music scores, wa-wa mutes, brick walls or just the hand are all methods to this end.

As you know, when playing a wind instrument you need to hear yourself clearly enough in order to strike the balance you want in volume and tone etc.

Well, that’s my rant over and I feel better for it - hope I didn’t bore you.

To answer your question re availability of such devices: I have tried for ages to find a metal derby hat but have been unsuccessful. If they are in production anywhere it’s a well-kept secret. I have a felt-lined derby which I bought on Ebay for £20 which isn’t too bad but my own device is simply an Ikea stainless steel salad bowl (£3.00) screwed to a microphone stand.

The best thing is a metal derby (Ken Colyer used one for years and other trumpet players likewise). This, when no microphones are available, pings the sound back to you and the band with a nice, clear ringing tone and saves a lot of wear and tear on the lips. 

Hope this answers your question and tell D.... best of luck. 

B.

=============

Hi Folks,

I'm pleased to join in this correspondence since B's comments so accurately reflect my own experiences.

I was playing cornet recently in a seven-piece band in a church hall. There was amplification of some of the instruments. I could not hear myself at all. I felt I was struggling even to play an audible melody for the clarinet and trombone to 'decorate'. But my wife (who for once had come to a gig) told me in the interval that I was playing FAR TOO LOUD and I really must try to curb my sound. That taught me something. I would never have believed it if she had not pointed it out.

On the other hand, if I'm playing in a not-too-noisy band (e.g. an unamplified quartet) with a good BRICK wall facing me (e.g. outdoors in a shopping centre) I can hear myself perfectly.

I believe the above confirms all that B said. And I hope it will be of some comfort to D.

Regarding the danger of deafness, I have on rare occasions tried using home-made cotton-wool earplugs in exceptionally noisy environments. They reduce the impact on the ear-drums but they have the disadvantage of leaving me unable to assess the tone and balance of the music I am involved in.

As for mutes, I have become addicted to them in recent months and have built up a collection. My favourite is the Humes and Berg 102 stonelined cup mute. But this is for special effects and not to enable me to hear myself better.

I also wanted a 'derby' mute and have just acquired one - the Humes and Berg 120 stonelined derby mute. I got it from Myatt's of Hitchin for £30.

It's good; but not quite what I wanted because it is indeed felt-lined, producing just a little too much 'fuzziness' and I shall have to practise hard with it if I am to play the highest and lowest notes in tune.

Seems I'm in the market for one of those salad bowls!

I hope this all helps.

Happy blowing to everyone,

C.

Post 184: CONCERT KEYS AND TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS

CORNET - a B Flat Instrument
(so its 'C' sounds the same note as a piano's 'B Flat')

I have had an enquiry from a reader. He says I wrote that Michigander Blues is normally played in the key of D minor. But when he tries it on his trumpet it seems to be in his key of E minor.

So let me explain that several instruments used in traditional jazz are transposing instruments, which means that music written for them appears to be in one key but when played it sounds in a different key. Most trumpets, for example, are Bb instruments, so if you play C on such a trumpet, you will produce the same note as Bb on the piano. The same is true of most clarinets.

You also come across Eb instruments, such as some tubas and saxophones. This means that if you play C on one of these instruments, it will sound the same note as Eb on the piano.

So my trumpet player - performing Michigander Blues in HIS E minor - is actually playing it in D minor (concert pitch - as sounded on the piano).

Why have instrument manufacturers made matters so complicated?  It's simply because they have found - over many decades of trial and error - that the tuning and fingering on the transposing instruments are better if they are built in such a way.

As a player of a Bb trumpet or Bb clarinet, you should in my opinion always refer to the concert key in which you are playing a piece of music with your band. Don't confuse the rest of the band by mentioning your own personal key. So, for example, if the band decides to play Michigander Blues in D minor, then D minor it is, even though you know that you personally will be playing it in your instrument's E minor.

To put it another way, you will always be one tone higher than the 'concert key' that the pianist or banjo or guitar player uses.

So for example if the band announces that it is going to play Muskrat Ramble in Ab, you know immediately that you will be playing in your Bb.

Maybe this sounds tricky, but after a short time such thinking becomes automatic.

Here's Shaye Cohn's Bb cornet. When she plays C on this, it sounds the same note as the Bb on a piano or banjo.

Here she is playing Michigander Blues. You can hear that the band is playing the tune in D minor. But if you watch Shaye's fingers, you will notice that she personally is of course having to play it in the cornet's E minor:
CLICK HERE.

Post 172: SHAYE COHN