[Dixielandjazz] Plunger

[Paul Kurtz Jr]

I think that this discussion about plungers and their use is an excellent one. 
After a concert in Jacksonville, FL a number of years ago, I was talking to Marcus Printup and complimenting him on his use of the plunger. I told him, "As a trumpet player, I thought this skill was just about to die out, but you do an excellent job with the plunger." Marcus told me that if he couldn't've used the plunger, Wynton Marsalis wouldn't've hired him for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. I reminded Marcus again of this conversation last summer when I saw him in Minneapolis, MN. Marcus has become an excellent historian and if anything, he uses the plunger better now than before. Thankfully, the skill may not be lost everywhere. 
One little note, and I haven't tried this yet but certainly intend to. Some of the trumpet guys with connections to the older players talk about cutting a nickel or dime-sized hole in the plunger and having the coin in or our while playing, generating certain sounds. There are some plunger sounds such as have been mentioned in some of the Ellington stuff with Bubber Myllie that I have yet been able to emulate. This discussion may stimulate me to buy some extra plungers and experiment a bit; I've wanted to for a while. 
Paul Kurtz Jacksonville, FL