[Dixielandjazz] Re: Improvise redux; playing melodies

[Charlie Hooks]

on 6/26/03 3:26 PM, Dan Augustine at ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu wrote:

  This ain't to say we can't do it, just to say that we have very little
experience even trying to do it.  Sure, as Robert A. Heinlein pointed out,
you can train a snake to tap dance, once you get the shoes on him.


You'd best not get Mike Marois mad at you--cause, believe me, that
particular snake does wear shoes!  I think Mike could easily play anything
on the tuba from "Flight of the Bumblebee" to "Body and
Soul."  The tuba guys around Chicago--Mike Walbridge plays cornet
as well as he does tuba, Rich Armandi plays string bass and knows
every melody you can name--all play tuba solos and on almost every
tune if they're working for me.  Until you brought up the matter, I was not
aware of any special difficulty with tuba solos other than the physical
length of the valve strokes.  In fact, there are guys around
who seem to confuse the tuba with a clarinet, and I find myself wanting to
turn around, point my horn at them, and go "TUM! TUM! TUM! Hey, SOMEbody has
to do that!" 

And, believe me: if I had a choice between a clarinet-headed bass player and
a guy like you, I'd choose you every time!

Charlie

Charlie