[Dixielandjazz] Tuba

[ROBERT R. CALDER]

Twenty-odd years ago I heard an American band short on repertoire at the Edinburgh jazz festival. The leader and cornet player struck me as the image of a recently retired senior military officer, the tuba player looked like a young decathlete, and given to calling everybody over 25 "sir".
This young guy was an amazing tuba player, and I spoke to him, but he had never heard of Cyrus St. Clair, the maestro who did all that duo work with Ed Allen on Clarence Williams recordings. 
In company with a continental friend some years ago I went to a brass band concert in Birmingham (England) concert hall. There was an ensemble of four tuba players  -- Tubarama -- who mentioned jazz but seemed not to be interested beyond the New Orleans marching band in a James Bond film.  There is actually a lot of tuba repertoire in the great Cyrus's discography -- and he did re-emerge in the late 1940s and play some legendary concerts and get recorded on Rudi Blesh's radio show. Maybe tuba players should liaise, and take up distinctive qualities of tuba as a theme for musical development. 
Bill Barber, who played on the Birth of the Cool recordings, of course took up string bass -- to play Bach!  Tuba was by definition less suitable for various developments in jazz which were developed on the basis of what New Orleans bassists brought in, but they should not be regarded as anything like fossils. 

Of course one of the most swinging bassists currently -- whom I heard in a magnificent set with Evan Christopher and David the Australian guitarist last year -- is the Scottish veteran Ronnie Rae.  Interestingly he started on tuba before having lung problems as a very young man.   Maybe some young bassists should be trained on tuba to let them appreciate what string bass can do that tuba perhaps can't -- and that too many virtuoso string bassists these days forget to do! 

       
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