Posted by Richard Murrow on July 14, 2000 at 00:56:23:
I just spent the evening listening to my newly aquired copy of Portrait of an Artist, the tribute to the life, performance, and teaching of the late, great Arnold Jacobs. If you have not heard this recording yet, then rush to Brian Frederiksen's web site and order a copy ASAP. This is a great source for anyone who never had the opportunity to study with Mr. Jacobs or attend one of his lectures or clinics, to get a glimpse of his concepts, playing, and personality. There are years of learning that we can get for the low, low price of one CD. Words really can't describe how exciting this CD is, you just have to hear it!! We are at a point in the life of our relatively young instrument where we are finally getting some history and finally a few GREAT players who have carved a path for the rest of us to follow. Arnold Jacobs, Harvey Phillips, John Fletcher, William Bell, Roger Bobo in particular all made and are still making major strides in the development of the tuba. Of those five only Harvey Phillips and Roger Bobo are still wlth us and they still are finding new territory to conquer. All of these great players though, made their own individual contributions and there is so much that we can learn from all of them. Think of all the professional tubists around the world who have been strongly influenced by one or more of those five men. Fortunately they have all left us with recordings to help preserve their legacy. There were unfortunately other great players from the past that we don't have readily available recordings to learn from. August Helleberg, Fred Pfaff, Jack Richardson, Johnny Evans, Jonh Kuhn, Fred Geib just to name a few, were all virtuoso players whose legacy is all but lost. We also now have texts and biographies about tubists to invigorate, excite, speed up, and condense the learning process. These are things that some of the younger players on this list can't appreciate as much as us "old guys". Take advantage of all these resources so that you newer generation players can make strides like our predessors have. This Jacobs recording is a great way to start and get a little historical perspective at the same time. Also if you don't have it, the John Fletcher, Best of Fletch recording is a must. Neither of these recordings were originally concieved as solo CDs, they're just a compilation of two great musicians doing what they did best on a daily basis, MAKE MUSIC! So , don't wait for these to sell out and wish you had one. Get it now and enjoy!!!