[Trombone-l] Ashley Alexander question

[George Carr]

> > Ashley Alexander played a "double trombone," akin to the Firebird or
> > other hybrid valve-slide horns.  Valves under the fingers of the right
> > hand, and a full-length hand slide manipulated in the left.
>
> Is it not easier to play the valves on the left and slide on the right a la
> the Holton Superbone?

Perhaps others can chime in on this, but I heard that he was
originally left-handed, a la Slide Hampton, so that he preferred "his"
model of horn over the Superbone.  I think he died in the late 1980s,
but I can't find any way to make Google help me with that.

> > Remarkably difficult to play (not least because of the pitch
> > difficulties) but when mastered, pretty amazing to listen to - e.g.
> > being able to play the same lick in seven different keys (using the
> > hand slide) without changing valve combinations,
>
> Hmm, it doesn't work quite that easy, the further out you push the slide,
> the more out of tune (sharp) become the valve tubings.  You'd need some kind
> of really complicated compensating system and methinks that might be rather
> heavy for a trombone.

Now on thinking about it, I may have heard that the slide was shorter
than seven positions, but this is all triple-hearsay clouded over by
memory problems, so maybe I should just shut my mouth.  Anyone who
actually knows what's up with Ashley's horn, please chime in.

George

PS My Googling did find an out-of-print book by Alexander titled "The
Superbone" published by LeBlanc, so perhaps he did play a
straight-off-the-rack Superbone, or was persuaded to sign onto
Holton's campaign at some point.  I also found him in some personnel
listings for the Matteson-Phillips Tubajazz group, so he clearly had
great facility with valves.