Excellent Jon Hassell Video (Ambient)

[braincell]

I got a trumpet today and this guy is one of the main reasons why:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxb00IneW7A

[dawman]

Nice link.
He's also one of my faves.
Right when I got my cards I was wondering if he's get picked up by a decent label again.
The Moon Came and Blueline are my favorites.
The Sampler guy is definately a good addition too, especially if you are watching them live.
Those guys are so into listening and improv they never budge, like statues almost.
And he actually's fun watching him work his kit.
I will have to get the CD.
I just got Delia Derbyshire's CD and I only get one a week, so JH is next week.

Thanks.

[braincell]

I bought last night the moon last year from iTunes and I hardly ever buy music these days. He is as great as Miles Davis yet hardly known.

[wayne]

Will you get a tutor, braincell? Probably a good idea initially (to avoid keeping bad habits).

Do feel free to ask questions about brass-playing, as it is what i do for a living. Two things I would suggest for a start - don't puff out your cheeks, and don't keep pressure in your neck & head - centre it in the diaphragm - that way the softest notes still travel...

[siriusbliss]

I like Hassell a lot.

Greg

[dawman]

I bought last night the moon last year from iTunes and I hardly ever buy music these days. He is as great as Miles Davis yet hardly known.

I know it sounds strange but mp3's are just for rehearsals in my world. I can't stand most of the music unless I am the Contractor, but for my pleasure and love of being a Collector I buy 1 CD or 8 track tape everyweek of something I like.
I often listen to my ancient 8 track tapes so I can remind myself of what warmth many folks are missing. My CD and 8 track tape collection make me proud.
I feel no such pride w/ HDD's full of watered down mp3's...
You really should check out JD Parran just once before he parts the world. He borders Ambient/Avant Garde and nobody is as Multi facetted with Reeds.
I miss the Dissonance sometimes, but that's why we buy media.
Sometime I will convert the 2" tapes of JD at BB's in 1978 and post them here.
I still escape to the garage for truly dissonant music..drives the neighbors nuts.

[braincell]

I woke up in the middle of the night and I am playing better than a few hours ago. That is encouraging.

Wayne, you on the Trumpet Herald Forum? I bought the cheapest valve oil. Does that matter? also I am using Vaseline for the slides. Some people say don't do that and some people say they have used it for 40 years with no problems. Can you tell me what mouthpiece Hassell is using? How often do you use the left hand sliders? It seems like the pitch varies enough by mouth. Are they for high notes mainly?

It's mp4 not mp3. Most of what is on iTunes is mp4 now. I could burn it to a CD and challenge you to hear the difference. I like digital recordings because I don't lose them. It's nice being able to find anything you want quickly also I usually listen to music on my RCA mp3 player which is higher fidelity (although crappy in other ways) compared to most mp3 players and I use V-Moda earbuds. It sounds great.

Dizzy Gillespie who I saw perform in a small club (past his prime) puffed his cheeks out. If you look at the video, notice that Jon Hassell puffs his cheeks and holds the trumpet incorrectly. Jon Hassell graduated from The Eastman School, widely regarded as the finest jazz college. It's interesting that he not only is unique in his style but he plays the wrong way.

I just ordered a double bridged kalimba and an Eb jaw harp and I made an offer on a nice Yamaha trumpet which is going for dirt cheap on craigs list. It's a rural area .

[darkrezin]

Great video. Earthquake Island/Power Spot/The Surgeon of the Night Sky.. are my favourites. I have some pretty rare live Hassell bootlegs if anyone is interested.

[Zer]

excellent stuff, but far too ambitious for listening to it at work.

[garyb]

don't move the slides around while you're playing(although you're so avant garde, maybe you should). the little ones are for cleaning. the big one is also for tuning.

different mouthpieces make different kinds of playing easier. you'll have to experiment. after ten years of daily practice, you may have a lip, although i know you're having lots of fun now.

[wayne]

Wayne, you on the Trumpet Herald Forum?

Nah, no forums, but i've played tuba/trombone in most conceivable situations since 1974.

I bought the cheapest valve oil. Does that matter?

- may vary for users. What horn did you buy? - i've got a bottle of Al Cass from Milford, Massachusetts, but my Mirafone tuba is rotary, a whole different set of circumstances. I've got a piston-valved, lower-end of the market euphonium by Jupiter - it's a good axe, but needs plenty of oil.

also I am using Vaseline for the slides. Some people say don't do that and some people say they have used it for 40 years with no problems.

It's what i used as a young person, but i use another purpose built product now. No reason, i just ended up with a jar, and i go through very little of it. But see "How often do you use the left hand sliders?"

Can you tell me what mouthpiece Hassell is using?

Nah, bit blurry for that. Could have a screw-on gold rim, though.

How often do you use the left hand sliders? It seems like the pitch varies enough by mouth. Are they for high notes mainly?

No, mainly low notes. Your low D (sounds C) would need some 3rd slide to alleviate the sharpness, and some F's (sounding Eb) will need a little first valve slide. But only in an orchestra, to avoid a conductor's glare. I recommend ignoring that stuff and lipping it, as you say, but hours put in on the horn are whet counts here. Whatever happens, if you want to experiment with slide tuning, you'll need something slicker than vaso to do it quick.

Dizzy Gillespie who I saw perform in a small club (past his prime) puffed his cheeks out. If you look at the video, notice that Jon Hassell puffs his cheeks and holds the trumpet incorrectly. Jon Hassell graduated from The Eastman School, widely regarded as the finest jazz college. It's interesting that he not only is unique in his style but he plays the wrong way.

That's cool - these guys are the real deal, developed their own "don't try this at home" thing, as so many other ground-breaking artists did. Emulating their physical differences won't help you imho, especially the Dizz cheeks thing, for a man of 50 with a new trumpet, with respect.

I made an offer on a nice Yamaha trumpet which is going for dirt cheap on craigs list. It's a rural area .

Hope you score the Yamaha, i love 'em. Cheap & true student horns. My Golden Handbrake is a Yammie student model i've had 20 years. Very good value $200 horn.

Blow that thing

[braincell]

I am picking up the Yamaha YTR-2320 today. It's seems to be in perfect condition from what he said and the photo. I'll check the valves and sliders. Pretty weird to buy a trumpet one day after I got one but the other was $100 new and this one is $175. Maybe I'll practice on the cheap one and record with the good one. Would rather have the Olds Ambassador but everyone says Yamaha is good and reliable so I'll stick with this for a few years.

[garyb]

you'll always want to use the better horn, it'll sound better.

the Yamaha is a very good horn and so is the Olds. if it were a 20 year old horn or older, i'd take the Olds, but it really doesn't matter that much. there's a personal preference thing, and knowing the preference takes many hundreds of hours of experience.

[siriusbliss]

With a good mic and pre going through Scope at 96K you'll get some good recordings (especially the 'air').

G

[braincell]

HA when the 64 bit drivers come out. I am happy with 24 bit 44.1 khz. I'll be working on getting another matching microphone and pre for stereo. Anyone want to buy a cheapish Ibanez guitar?

Update: I drove nearly 200 miles round trip but it was worth it I think.

The kid calls me "dude" on the phone but "Sir" in person. I guess he was a little nervous. Claims he's a student who just lost his job. He's going to be smoking a lot of weed with his girlfriend tonight me thinks!

The springs make a springy sound. I guess they need to be replaced. Is that something I can do myself Wayne? I played both of them now and I can hear that the Yamaha sounds better but it needs some work on the valves. It has a Vincent Bach mouthpiece which I think is even better than Yamaha. I used it on the cheap trumpet and it helps.

[garyb]

replacing springs is a pretty rare operation even in 30 year old intruments. are the valves actually seated properly and is the collar tight? are you ripping through a major scale yet?

[braincell]

I am learning chromatic which will be followed by pentatonic then whole tone.

They seem on right. I did some research and it will cost about $400 more to get it in good working shape maybe. It's still cheaper than a new Yamaha though which would be around $1,000 but without all the hassle so turns out it wasn't the great deal I thought it was. We will see. I'm back to playing the old one for now. There is some corrosion in one of the valve casings which is a real problem.

Back to playing on the cheap shiny Chinese model for now.

[garyb]

there's not a lot to a trumpet. it's just a brass tube. if the valves work and don't stick, the trumpet's in playing shape, especially if you're not Maynard. corrosion doesn't necessarily matter, especially when it's cosmetic.

[wayne]

G speaks the truth - the corrosion is neither here nor there, a bit of sweat - eaten lacquer, i assume? My 40-year-old tuba is in a parlous state lacquer-wise, but still in a fine state for a gig.

Can you nail down the reason for spring noise? As Gary said that is usually because a spring isn't seated properly in the valve. Is the Yam unplayable to you because of this? A tiny bit of spring noise is common in cheaper horns - again the rotaries on my tuba rattle a bit, this never affects gigs or recordings in a bad way.

A great chops builder is to lip-slur arpeggia up and down the harmonic series -- C3 G3 C4 E4 G4 E4 C4 G3 C3 -- and then mix it up a little -- G3 C4 G3 E4 C4 G4 E4 C4 G3 C3------ i'm talking transposed here, so open valves all the way (normally you would finger the E4 1 & 2 for tuning, but not for these bugle exercises) Then do it all again with the 2nd valve in, and chromatically down, etc.

[braincell]

One of them sticks depending on where you place the pressure, on the edge, it sticks and that one has the corrosion in the hole so I am guessing that may have something to do with why. Like I said, the tone is much better than the cheap one but the valves surely need work to make it like new, which is what I desire. I am taking it to a well known pro repair next week.

For a few seconds, I was able to play nearly like a pro which wets my appetite!