[Dixielandjazz] Re: Look out you tubists. This one cuts you all.

[Dan Augustine]

Gary, DJML, and others--
     I didn't find the demo-CD she sent, but there are audio-exceprts 
of her playing on a radio show at 
http://www.fromthetop.org/Programs/performers.cfm?pid=1677: 
"Estrellita" and "Flight of the Bumblebee", plus interviews with her 
talking.  She sounds delightful.
     Then at the bottom of the page 
http://www.musicforyouth.org/features-jantsch.html there's a link to 
play a video of her playing an audition of a piece that i don't know, 
but it's extremely difficult.  They say that she has a lung-capacity 
of 4.7 liters, about the same as male players, and you need every bit 
of that to play tuba (I used to have 6.0 liters when i was young and 
frisky, but that was 40-coughcough years ago).
     In each of these she plays all the notes without any wrong notes 
(that i heard), and even bends some of the notes in "Estrellita".  I 
think it's an F tuba she's playing on, but hey, as an old 
brass-teacher of mine used to say, your lips still have to vibrate 
the note, no matter what tuba or mouthpiece you're using.
     Still, advanced classical technique don't have nothin' to do with 
being able to play jazz.  Some of the best jazz tuba has come from 
guys with terrible tone, no range, cracked notes, and so forth.  It's 
the jazz-quality of their ideas that makes them good, and they sure 
didn't get good in a day, or by studying tuba in school.  You learn 
to do something and get better at it by doing it a lot, by imitating 
others and your teachers in your own way and voice, and even then you 
may just be a journeyman jazzer with good execution but average ideas.
     But she sure as hell can play!

     Dan
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>Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:21:17 +0100
>From: Gary Kiser <gary at kiser.org>
>To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Look out you tubists. This one cuts you all.
>
>Steve barbone wrote:
>
>>This is her first Orchestral job, as well as her first job. The chair pays
>>over $100,000 but the Philadelphia did not disclose her pay.
>>
>>Damn, I wonder if she would like a few jazz gigs. :-) VBG
>>
>Yeah, right, as if she would be interested in a festival gig at $40 
>per set.  If she can play Khachaturian, she can probably swing 
>circles around Chuck Daellenbach.  If anyone can come up with a copy 
>of that demo tape, I'd be very interested.
>
>All the best, Gary

-- 
**--------------------------------------------------------------------**
**  Dan Augustine  --  Austin, Texas  --  ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu 
**    "The tuba is the certainly the most intestinal of instruments, 
**     the very lower bowel of music." --  Peter De Vries            
**--------------------------------------------------------------------**