[Dixielandjazz] Slide positions was (Mini Trombone/Slide Trumpet)

[Ministry of Jazz]

Hi Bob,

Now that surprises me. I've owned the same trombone since 1966 -- an Olds
Opera bass with F attachment that I got from the Olds factory when they were
still around. 3rd position has always been right by the bell, as it was on
the horn I learned on -- an Olds tenor bone (Ambassador, I think it was),
and the various other bones I have played on from time to time over my
career. I have always found the slide positions to be fairly close from one
horn to the next.

Ah -- light dawns -- it occurs to me that we're talking apples and oranges.
I am comparing the location of my hand while holding the slide by the cross
bar, and not the location of the end of the slide itself. I find it easier
to gauge where my hand is than where the end of the tube is. Maybe that's
the difference. In that case, on the slide trumpet, when my hand is by the
bell, I get 4th position, while the same relative position on tenor or bass
bones would be 3rd. Maybe that will solve the mystery.

Believe it or not, I have never dropped my slide while playing. I have let
it fall accidentally by not holding it after forgetting to close the latch,
but not during a performance. And in 40 years my slide has never been
damaged. Not that I haven't done other stupid things while performing, like
tripping over or kicking my trumpet while trying to juggle trumpet, marching
bone and tuba during street performances. I have to keep the horns close to
me otherwise people from the crowd will come and try to play them, or kids
will walk or run between me and the horns if I give any possibility for that
to happen. The street is the street. We don't own the space, and can only
demand so much respect for our presence from passers-by.

Possibly the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me at a gig was
once at a posh event celebrating the publication of a limited edition of the
Psalms with artistic illumination and ornamentation by a prominent artist.
The Chief Rabbi was there, and many other dignitaries. A friend and I got
hired to play fanfares on meter long shofars as the distinguished guests
entered. We were wearing white outfits that were allegedly made for us,
consisting of pants tied by a string at the waist, and a tunic worn outside
the pants. While warming up (and fortunately not during the gig itself), we
were in a closed room with the photography crew, I guess the diaphragm
activity was not properly anticipated by the tailor, and after several test
blows on my shofar, I took a nice breath to see how long I could play a
fanfare, and the pants dropped straight to the ground in one clean and quick
motion. It was fully worthy of Lou Costello. After we all stopped laughing,
I tried to secure the pants in a more reliable way, but that didn't work
very well. I ended up having to hold them up with one hand (while looking
properly formal and ceremonial) through most of the gig to ensure this did
not happen again. And thankfully it didn't.

Elazar "I always wanted to be Lou Costello" Brandt
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Smith [mailto:robert.smith at tele2.no]
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 11:51 AM
To: Dixie Jazz Mail List
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Slide positions was (Mini Trombone/Slide
Trumpet)


Hello Elazar,

I was surprised that your 3rd position on the trombone is adjacent to the
bell. On all my three trombones (King 4B, Blessing "Artist", and clapped-out
Blessing "Scholastic") the 4th position is nearer the bell than the third
position, although not by much. It's some time since I played a slide
trumpet, but as I remember it the positions were similar to the trombone
(but I don't have any accurate measurements for this).

Talking about pulling the slide completely off, I remember at the very first
dance that we played, I lost my hold on the slide when reaching for the
sixth position, and the slide shot off under the feet of the dancers. By
some miracle, nobody trod on it, and I was able to continue after
shame-facedly retrieving the slide. This happened more than fifty years ago
but I remember it as though it were yesterday.

Cheers

Bob Smith