Re: Re: Re: Tastes...


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Posted by Chuck Jackson-Long on August 06, 2003 at 02:09:57:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Tastes... posted by js on August 05, 2003 at 22:30:28:

Ok, I'll chime in hear. I personally like a more defined, less broad sound on the tuba. I have found that you have to work half as hard to get through the surrounding sound on stage. BUT, we are now driven by recordings. We listen and expect ourselves and others to sound just like the recording. This poses an exceptional risk. Is that what the tuba player really sounds like? Are people trying to sound like a tuba that is not miked all that closely and the ambient sound that is picked up is more diffuse and broad and less than clean?

Let's look at orchestras. Chester Schmitz live sounded like Chester on the recordings. He had the benefit of American ears on production with DG and some fine folks from EMI. I noticed a marked difference in his sound live between the Alex and the BAT-o-Brunner. I like the pungency of the Alex, it spoke clearer. Mike Thornton has the benefit of Telarc and it's superior technology. He is a stupendous player, so recordings of the quality of Telarc only help us hear him. I assume he doesn't play on his Alex anymore, which is a shame. A cult of personality has arisen around the CSO recordings. I don't understand way. The brass are either loud or non-existent. I think that this has driven alot of the blasting we have today. Loud is good because the horses in Chicago do it.I don't think anything will change. We are a recording driven profession.

On the next front we have the aforementioned cult of personality surrounding a particular horn. The York is probably a fantastic instrument, but many other great tuba players have played on other equipment and accomplished the same, or some may say more than, Mr. Jacobs did. I acknowledge him as a consummate artist, but I have never seen a man so tied to a horn in my life. I bet he would hate the cult of personality that the "horn" has gotten over his skill. Nobody ponders to the depth of the Jacobs/York crowd the horns played by such greats as Novotny, LaGasse, Torchinsky, Weksellblatt(Sorry Herb, I know I butchered it), Green, or any myriad of others that have been playing the notes for years. Somehow, the ball got rolling and hasn't stopped. High school kids now must have a BAT or they don't feel competitive. It's the person not the horn. I find that the following anomaly interesting: Alot of guys with orchestra jobs are opting to a good sized F for their everyday use. Maybe there is a trend worth watching. When you think about it, the F works great for about 90% of the regularly performed literature. Interesting.

Joe, this is a potentially hazardous post and I appreciate it. There is no stemming the tide. At some point, when our high-brass brethren realize that is suicide to try to play the biggest stuff in the world and their sound changes back to a more focused approach, maybe we will be forced to rethink our position. I am going out on a rickety limb and seconding Joe's thoughts about Mr. Jacobs. I have listened to alot of the CSO recordings noticed a marked change in his sound in the early 70's with the advent of the awful Solti recordings. I assume that some physical ailment crept up on him and caused the unusual Sfz/vibrato thing. He still made wonderful music, but the sound was annoying at times. NOW, don't take any of that the wrong way all you hair-triggered people out there, it is a viable question. I personally would like some insight. Thanks for reading if you got this far. Have Peace.

Chuck Jackson


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