Contrabass Digest

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2002-01-10

 
From: "Peter Hurd"
Subject: [CB] Paul Whiteman
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 16:30:18 -0800
 

Dear Grant and fellow bass-o-philes,
        Paul Whitman's arrangement of Gershwin's "Concerto in F" (I believe this is correct- could be "Rhapsody in Blue" though) employs Heckelphone in the instrumentation. The particular Heckelphone the orchestra used is the one that belongs to the Metropolitan Opera.
My understanding is that this instrument was on "long term loan" to the PWO while the Met was using a bass oboe instead. I have a classic Paul Whiteman 33 rpm record, but it does not have the "Concerto in F" on it .
Does anyone have a recording of this piece they would be willing to dub for me ?
Cheers,  Peter

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Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:03:21 -0800
From: Grant Green
Subject: Re: [CB] Paul Whiteman

>Dear Grant and fellow bass-o-philes,
>        Paul Whitman's arrangement of Gershwin's "Concerto in F" (I
>believe this is correct- could be "Rhapsody in Blue" though) employs
>Heckelphone in the instrumentation. The particular Heckelphone the
>orchestra used is the one that belongs to the Metropolitan Opera.
>My understanding is that this instrument was on "long term loan" to
>the PWO while the Met was using a bass oboe instead. I have a
>classic Paul Whiteman 33 rpm
>record, but it does not have the "Concerto in F" on it .
>Does anyone have a recording of this piece they would be willing to
>dub for me ?
>Cheers,  Peter

Hi Peter,

The same page that has "Chloe" also has several takes of the Concerto in F (divided into individual movements).  See http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html.
1928 Recording:
-1st movement: http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/1stmovement.ram
-2nd movement: http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/2ndmovement.ram
-3rd movement: http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/3rdmovement.ram
-3rd movement (3rd take): http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/concf63.ram
1939 Recording:
-1st movement: http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/conf1de.ram
-2nd + 3rd movements: http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/conf23de.ram

Enjoy!

Grant

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green
Sarrusophones, contrabass reeds, &
other brobdignagian acoustic exotica             http://www.contrabass.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:04:46 -0800
From: Grant Green
Subject: Re: [CB] Paul Whiteman/Chloe

>Now, I'm not at all familiar with the sound of the sarrusophone, but
>there is a real nice sounding low reed instrument featured on this
>1928 recording! The link to the tune is
><http://www.redhotjazz.com/songs/whiteman/chloe.ram> and you need a
>real audio player to listen to it. Perhaps it might be a good time
>to download and try out the new "Real One" player that came out in
>December, too!
>Let me know what you sarrusophone players think this instrument is!
>Gotta go! "Someone's callin'!"

Sounds like bassoon to me...

Grant

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green
Sarrusophones, contrabass reeds, &
other brobdignagian acoustic exotica             http://www.contrabass.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 21:25:49 -0500
From: jim & joyce
Subject: Re: [CB] whiteman

Bix Biderbecke played with the Whiteman Band.  There was a
popular Bix Bio about 20 years ago (Perone?) which included
many unflattering things about Whiteman.  The author didn't
like the band much, either, and I am sure he thought it well
deserved the "Spike" treatment.

jim.

---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 21:39:13 -0800
From: "Timothy J. Tikker"
Subject: Re: [CB] Paul Whiteman Orchestra

All I know about the Paul Whiteman Orchestra is that it was the group for whom Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was originally written, and they gave its first performance.

- Tim Tikker

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From: Heliconman
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 23:46:24 EST
Subject: Re: [CB] Paul Whiteman Orchestra/Joe Venuti

My favorite story of the Whiteman Orchestra was told to me by former
Northeastern University Professor William Tesson, who spent some time playing
trombone with one of Red Nichols' bands. He told a story of how the Whiteman
musician's got really tired of playing Whiteman's theme song (Jazz historians
help me out here! Was it Avalon?) which opened the show with a dramatic
sforzando note on the tuba! One day, noted jazz violinist and notorious
prankster Joe Venuti dumped a pound of either talcum powder or flour into the
tuba so that when that first note hit, there was a considerable dusting that
sent the musicians into howls of laughter so that they had to start the tune
all over again.
 I was surprised and disappointed that the notorious prankish sense of humor
of Joe Venuti was not mentioned on the <redhotjazz.com> biography! I hope
someone has collected and written a book of stories of Joe Venuti's
craziness. I've heard several through the musical grapevine. This is one of
the reasons I LOVE to work with the older musicians! They have some great
stories to tell!
---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 00:03:38 -0400
Subject: Re: [CB] [CB Digest]
From: Robert Howe

on 1/9/02 7:47 PM, List Server wrote:

> Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 17:47:54 -0600
> Subject: [CB] conical   enough
> From: Oscar A Wehmanen
>
> Art Benade the acoustition, who was also a clarinettist
> claimed that he had made a mouthpiece which overblows
> the octave, like a sax!  The cylindrical pipe business for clarinets
> is about the mouthpiece.  But if you closed the end,,,,
>
> The overtone series in any case would be the normal one
> seen in the sax.  Oscar

I studied with Dr. Benade, this is true but this was a flute type
embouchure, not a single reed mouthpiece.  I will never forget the day (it
was in May 1975, I was seated in the back of the room as always) that  he
demonstrated this in class, smiling and almost giggling like a child.  What
a wonderful man he was, a true scientist with a personality as large as all
outdoors.

One time while I was in Dr. Benade's course on Acoustical Evolution of
Woodwinds, I had  been up most of the night with a bong and a lady friend
and fell asleep in the front row of the class.  He tapped me on the head to
wake me and as I stuggled to embarrassed consciousness he asked if I had
been studying too late.  Another student said "no, he was probably getting
laid", and the class exploded in laughter, which Art led.

Art had his classes over to his house for Sunday brunch and chamber music.
His wife Virginia became a dear friend and I correspond with her still.

Dr. Benade's redesign of the Boehm system clarinet is available from Steve
Fox, a boutique clarinet maker in Ontario.  It is cheaper than a Buffet
Prestige and  is said to play much better; my Bb is due this spring.  Write
me at my other address, for Mr. Fox's address.

Robert Howe

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Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002 22:20:27 -0800
From: David Richoux
Subject: Re: [CB] Paul Whiteman Orchestra/Joe Venuti practial jokes

Another Joe Venuti contrabass practical joke is the one where he anonymously "hires"
a dozen or so string bass players, tells them individually to show up for the gig at
some specific intersection in New York City - they all do show up, there is no gig,
but Joe is in an upstairs window watching all of those guys struggle with their
instruments, getting out of taxis and then wandering around, looking for the
nonexistent job!

another one (not contrabass related) was what he used to conduct the Whiteman
orchestra with one time... I think that one got him fired ;-)

Dave Richoux
 

---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 15:07:15 -0800
From: David Richoux
Subject: [CB] Composer/arranger JUAN GARCIA ESQUIVEL (1918-2002) RIP

I was playing several tracks on my show today - he really knew how to have fun with
contrabass instruments, and not just using them in the regular way - key-popping bass
sax sounds, bass harmonica (or accordion or something else?) The CD collections we
have at KFJC don't list the individual musicians or instruments but the sounds are
fantastic anyway... a musical genius!

Dave Richoux
 

JUAN GARCIA ESQUIVEL (1918-2002)

Juan Garcia Esquivel, celebrated pianist, composer, bandleader, stereo recording
pioneer, and glamorous Space Age Bachelor Pad Music icon, died at his home in
Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico, on January 3, 2002. He was 83.

The death was reported by his widow, Carina Osorio vda. de Garcia, and by his son,
Mario Eddi Garcia Servin, of Taxco. According to a longtime friend,  Steve Reed, of
Los Angeles, three months ago Esquivel suffered a  stroke, which had left him
paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. He recovered in a short time, but
suffered a second, more severe stroke on Dec. 30. He died four days later.

Esquivel was born on January 20, 1918, in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was a
renowned pianist/bandleader in his native country, garnering much acclaim on stage,
television and radio. He starred in and scored two films, "Cabaret Tragico" and "La
Locura de Rock'n'Roll," before being brought to the U.S. by RCA Victor Records in
1957. Working primarily in Hollywood, New York, and Las Vegas, the suave maestro
recorded prolifically, led an explosive big band, and scored for several TV
programs. His elegant, idiosyncratic, and very meticulous arrangements were colored
by radical dynamic shifts, playful percussion, wordless vocals, and Esquivel's own
virtuoso keyboard runs. When it came to recording sessions, he was notorious for
budget-busting extravagance. His offstage life was filled with celebrity hobnobbing
(e.g., Sinatra, Liberace, Ernie Kovacs), romantic intrigue (he embodied the charming
Latin Lothario mystique), and unfortunate bouts  of  drinking and prescription drug
abuse that eventually curtailed his success.

Many of Esquivel's saucy compositions, such as "Mucha Muchacha," "Whatchamacallit,"
"Latin-Esque," and "Mini Skirt," have come to symbolize the wild hyper-stereo
orchestration of the 1950s and '60s. Ironically, his most familiar composition --
and one for which he is little known -- is the "Universal Emblem," a two-second
blast of Wagnerian thunder which has for decades accompanied the Universal Studios
logo at the conclusion of hundreds of television programs.

"Space Age Bachelor Pad Music," a 1994 Bar/None Records compilation of Esquivel's
1950s-'60s RCA Victor recordings, sparked a resurgence of interest in his work.
Simpsons creator Matt Groening declared Esquivel "the great unsung genius of space
age pop." Subsequent releases, such as "Music >From a Sparkling Planet" (1995,
Bar/None), "Cabaret Mañana" (1996, BMG), and the 40-years-locked-in-the-can "See It
In Sound" (1999, 7N), launched his vintage recordings into wide circulation on TV,
in films and commercials, and as background music in restaurants, lounges, and
stores. Several of his compositions have been used in the soundtracks of major
Hollywood  films,  including "The Big Lebowski," "Four Rooms," and "Beavis and
Butt-Head  Do  America." His riffs have been widely sampled and emulated by audio
mixologists and turntable wizards worldwide.

The Kronos Quartet recently commissioned and performed a string arrangement of
Esquivel's 1967 composition "Mini Skirt." The original handwritten scores for his
24-piece orchestra no longer exist, having reportedly been hauled away as trash
years ago when rent was in arrears on a Las Vegas storage facility.

Though he was an American citizen, Esquivel moved back to Mexico in the 1980s. For
the Televisa network, he composed soundtracks for a children's TV program, entitled
"Burbujas" ("Bubbles"). He was inactive in the music business during the 1990s, due
to a broken hip and an aggravated spinal injury which left him bedridden and unable
to walk. He lived at the  home of his older brother, Sergio, in Jiutepec, until
Sergio's death in 1999. Esquivel then bought and moved to a home in Villas del
Descanso, also  in  Jiutepec.

In May 2001, Esquivel married 25-year-old Carina Osorio, who had assisted the ailing
legend as a home health care aide for several years. They were wed in a simple
ceremony administered by a justice of the peace at Esquivel's home. Esquivel claimed
that Carina was his sixth wife. He  had  married and divorced twice while residing
in the United States. He described Carina as "a simple girl, who is attentive and
honest," adding, "I am very happy, and she is too. We both stay up until 2:00 in the
morning, and she helps me. Our house is not too big, not too small. Just for the two
of us, it is nice. It has a nice garden."

A film biography about the Space Age Pop avatar is in script  development at Fox
studios, with John Leguizamo slated to star and Alexander Payne signed to direct.

Per his wishes, Esquivel's remains were cremated, and his ashes were returned home
with Carina.
---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 17:09:41 -0600
Subject: [CB] Art Benade
From: Oscar A Wehmanen
 

 I only met him at the first TUBA conference.
 His story then was that he took his modified mouthpiece to his
 favorite repairman and asked him to try it.  So it could not have been
 only a flute mouthpiece.    In passing. With the barrel off,
 a clarinet can be played as an end blown African flute.
 Whistle embrocure, tube angled to the side. contact with the lips
 beside the whistle embrochure.  Sounding pitch about
 a fifth above the whistle pitch....  Oscar

________________________________________________________________

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