FW: [Dixielandjazz] Re: It's a brass thing...

[Jim Kashishian]

Well, I got one "agreed" & one "can't agreed" from my post about high notes.
Bob Smith wrote:

"I play trombone where the top Bb is the normal highest note, and this is
the highest note I would consider playing in front of an audience."

I don't fully understand why Bb should be the "normal" highest note,
especially when many big band jazz charts are often written above that note,
and many players can make the horn sing above that note.  Urbie Green does
it beautifully, as does a trombonist on an LP I have from the Band of the
Reserves (U.S. Air Force band at Robbins AFB), and many others that I can't
recall now (I bet if I put a Tommy Dorsey recording on now, we'd find he
often went over Bb?).  Upper Bb, C & D form a normal part of my daily
playing, although I don't go much higher than that as the notes begin (in my
case) to sound somewhat "pinched".  However, as said before, others do it
with a big, full sound.

What do you do if your improv riff is leading up to that self-imposed "brick
wall" called Bb, and you have to break the idea off cause you just consider
playing the next note in front of an audience?  Drag!

Screech?  I love to play unison with our trumpeter on the riff of Satin
Doll.  We both take it an octave higher than each would normally play (ends
on high C for the 'bone)!  Get's the folks right out of their chairs!  It´s
fun, as it is as close a sound as a quintet can get to a big band sound.  

What's that got to do with Dixieland?   Well, it swings, and it's fun, we
enjoy doing it (which transmits to the audience), and it adds variety to our
show.  All good points, I believe.  So, I still maintain, used correctly,
the high notes can be a good thing.

Anyway, it's not a matter that everyone should agree on, necessarily...so,
each to his own.

Jim