[Dixielandjazz] Kenton Mellophoniums

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom Gary,

I don't know what kind of Mellophonium(s) Kenton had, but I have 3
mellophones:

1. a Blessing marching mellophone in F -- shaped like a large trumpet with a
bell the size of a French horn bell pointing straight forward. Takes an alto
horn mouthpiece.

2. an Amati straight mellophone in F, has a circular body built around the
valve chambers, with the bell extended forward, longer than the above horn,
also about French horn size.

3. a King (I think) Bb marching mellophone similar to #1 above but larger,
and takes a French horn mouthpiece. I'm told it is like playing the Bb side
of a double French horn. Overall shape is similar to a flugabone or marching
trombone, but with a larger bell.

#1 is easiest to hold and play, but it's considerably lighter than the
others and I suspect the metal is not as good quality, hence the tone has
somewhat less body to it. But it's fun for playing jazz. Similar to a
frumpet.

#3 is the hardest to play for me. I can't get most of the lower octave to
sound. I'm not used to the mouthpiece. And I thought it was hard picking up
the trumpet! But it has the nicest tone of the 3 in my opinion.

#2 is in between, easier to play than #1 and sounds better, but not as much
like a French horn as #3. I use it for recording and in brass ensemble
playing when we want a French horn sound. Sure is hard to get used to the
notes being half an octave lower than trumpet for the same fingerings
though. I switch between trumpet, valve bone and tuba all the time, and the
octave change does not mess with my head. But fingering a C and hearing an F
come out of the horn gets confusing, and still trips me up sometimes when
improvising and also when reading parts.

That about exhausts me knowledge of mellophones. The truth is I bought my
first one because I liked the odd shape, I found a good deal, and I wanted
it for the pun value. In Hebrew our first and most famous cell phone company
is Pelephone, and a cucumber is a melafafone. It just seemed like there was
a joke in there that was worth the few bucks for the horn. Still working out
the details. I'm open to suggestions...

Elazar
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537


-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Kiser [mailto:gary at kiser.org]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 12:50 PM
To: DJML
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Kenton Mellophoniums



3)  Ok, there are three parts to this post.  Does anyone have one of
these horns?  Were they made especially for Kenton?