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2002-06-04

 
Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 17:19:34 -0700
From: Grant Green
Subject: [CB] Abbreviations


I finally picked up a Paul Whiteman CD (Jazz Archives No. 37, 1920/1935), and am trying to decipher some of the credits.  The liner notes/CD booklet uses the "standard" abbreviations for things like alto sax (as), violin (vln), etc., and a few rare ones like "Cms" (C melody sax), but there are a few that are baffling.  For example, one musician (Mr. "unknown") is listed as playing "bhn, bassoon."  *What* is a "bhn"?  A number of musicians are credited with "avln" (viola?).

Any ideas?

Grant

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green                    contrabass.com
Sarrusophones & other Contrabass Winds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 18:11:23 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis"
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations


Grant, does this URL help any?

http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html

Cheers,
Chuck

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Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 18:22:03 -0700
From: Grant Green
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations


At 06:11 PM 6/3/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>Grant, does this URL help any?
>
>http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html
>
>Cheers,
>Chuck

Hi Chuck,

Good idea!  The musician credited for "avln" shows up on that URL as contributing violin and viola (they must have figured that a viola is an alto violin...).  Still doesn't clear up the "bhn" though - the musicians listed as playing bassoon play variously cl, ss, as, ts, EH, fl, picc, oboe, bass sax , and C melody.  Perhaps it means " bass heckelphone "?

Grant


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green                    contrabass.com
Sarrusophones & other Contrabass Winds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 18:35:30 -0700
From: "Chuck Guzis"
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations


 On 6/3/2002,  Grant Green  wrote:
> Still doesn't clear up the "bhn" though - the musicians
>listed as playing bassoon play variously cl, ss, as, ts, EH, fl, picc,
>oboe, bass sax, and C melody.  Perhaps it means "bass heckelphone"?

Grant, I doubt the folks who compiled the liner notes could tell a  heckelphone from a concertina. "Bhn" might be an old name for a tuba: "bass horn".  You'll note that the tuba is called "Brass Bass" on the redhotjazz URL. 

Cheers,
Chuck


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From: Opusnandy
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 00:18:03 EDT
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations


"bhn" could very well mean "bass Heckelphone".  I do remember once seeing a picture of one of the old big bands, that may have been the Whiteman band, where all the woodwind players had their doubles out (a lot of bands from this era had group photos like this) and there was a Heckelphone amongst the many woodwinds (and a bass Sax, I remember, too).  In the early part of this century, Heckel was still producing the piccolo Heckelphones and, I believe, still had the Terz-Heckelphones in their catalog.  It would then make sense that they would have to clarify the instrument as a "bass" Heckelphone.  My only other guess as to what "bhn" could mean is "basset horn".  That would be no more unusual in a dance band than a Heckelphone.

Jonathan Carreira

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From: "TERJE LERSTAD"
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 10:41:21 +0200


Hallo,
bhn is a lot used abbreviation for bassett horn used in a several classical scores, but Cor.diB. also occurs.  But bassett horn and
bassoon is a quite strange combination.
Terje Lerstad

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Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 08:30:10 -0700
From: David Richoux
Subject: Re: [CB] stroh violins


and so we go full circle on this one!
(my first post on the topic was about a recent interview with Tom Waits and he mentions the Stroh violins used on his new record... ;-)

BTW, there are modern versions of Stroh violins available - a friend of mine uses one in the Los Trancos Woods Community Marching Band.

Dave Richoux

Jay and Adrienne Easton wrote:
> The excellent new Tom Waits albums "Alice" and "Blood Money" both use stroh
> violin, and it is especially prominent on several of the tracks on Alice.
> If you don't know Mr. Waits' work, he is quite a sonic artist- his voice
> really scares some people, but he has a love of creaky old instruments and
> homemade noisemakers.  The stroh violin sounds much like what you would
> probably guess- a violin being played through a phonograph horn.  I like it!
> Jay C. Easton
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Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 10:50:50 -0700
From: Grant Green
Subject: Re: [CB] Abbreviations


At 06:35 PM 6/3/2002 -0700, you wrote:
> > Still doesn't clear up the "bhn" though - the musicians
> >listed as playing bassoon play variously cl, ss, as, ts, EH, fl, picc,
> >oboe, bass sax, and C melody.  Perhaps it means "bass heckelphone"?
>
>Grant, I doubt the folks who compiled the liner notes could tell a
>heckelphone from a concertina. "Bhn" might be an old name for a
>tuba:  "bass horn".  You'll note that the tuba is called "Brass Bass" on
>the redhotjazz URL.

Possible, but not probable.  They already list tuba ("tu") on just about every track, including the track that has the "bhn, bassoon" player.  The credits for the track in question (St. Louis Blues) read:

"Henry Busse, Frank Siegrist, Teddy Bartell (tp), Wilbur Hall, Jack Fulton, Boyce Cullen (tb), Chester Hazlett (cl, bcl, as), Hal McLean (cl, as), E. Lyle Sharpe (cl, ts), Charles Strickfaden (as, bs), unknown (bhn, bassoon), Melvin Morris, John thomas, Ben Kaitz, James Gillespie, Charles Gaylor, Kurt Dieterle (vln), Matty Malneck, John Bowman (avln), Raymond Turner (p, cel), Mario Perry (acd), Mike Pingitore (bjo), John Sperzel (tu), George Marsh (dm), Frank Leoncavallo, Bill Schumann (vo).  NYC, 29/03/1926."

The Red Hot jazz page has the tune in question in RealAudio format - maybe I just need to crank it up loud enough to tell...

Grant


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green                    contrabass.com
Sarrusophones & other Contrabass Winds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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