[Trombone-l] Plunger Mute question...

Tue Jan 6 17:27:28 CST 2009

Back in October, NPR "Jazz Profiles" did a nice Podcast episode about  
Al Grey called "The Last Big Time Plunger".
It's great, as all of these profiles are:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95931539

Dr. Tom Gibson
tom at trombonelessons.com
Visit me at iTunes:
Trombonelessons.com Video Podcasts
(or just search "trombonelessons" at the iTunes store)

On Jan 6, 2009, at 2:29 PM, Daryl Burch wrote:

Thanks for these!

-D-

On Jan 6, 2009, at 11:15 AM, Stan Brager wrote:

Daryl;

I named a few Duke Ellington recordings. Here they are again plus a
couple
of others:

"Mood Indigo" - Oct, 1930
"Black And Tan Fantasy" - Nov. 3, 1927
"It Don't Mean A Thing" - Feb 2, 1932
"In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree" - Aug 15, 1933
"Main Stem" - Jun 26, 1942
"Chloe"
"East Side, West Side"

You may also be interested in reading Kurt Dietrich's excellent book,
"Duke's Bones". Not only does he discuss the techniques used by various
Ellington trombonists, he also presents the sheet music of the
solos... to
practice at home, presumably.

You may be able to find these recordings on iTunes or other music
download
sites.

Stan
Stan Brager

-----Original Message-----
From: Daryl Burch [mailto:daryl at burchinteractive.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 10:26 AM
To: Samuel Keyser
Cc: Stan Brager; Trombone Forum
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Plunger Mute question...

Can y'all suggest some particular recordings to get so's we can hear
said plunge-u-licious wizardry???

(Would be helpful to all and bolster my iPod.)

Thanks!
-D-

On Jan 6, 2009, at 10:20 AM, Samuel Keyser wrote:

I agree with you, Stan.  No one could make the trombone + plunger
combination speak like "Tricky Sam."  Part of his "trickiness" was to
use a pixie mute with the plunger.  But part also  had to do with how
he modified the airstream  going into the horn.  Nanton did a lot of
shaping the airstream with syllables like "ya."  You can actually hear
them in his playing and that is what made it so speech-like.

Jay

On Jan 6, 2009, at 1:14 PM, Stan Brager wrote:

> To me, the plunger master was Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton who was with
> Duke
> Ellington from the '20s until his death in the late '40s. Listen to
> some of
> his solos (Mood Indigo, Black and Tan Fantasy, Caravan, Main Stem,
> etc) and
> you'll swear that it's a real person talking. Ellington liked it so
> much
> that he insisted that someone in the trombone section become a growl
> master.
> At one time, Lawrence Brown was chosen. Brown didn't like the
> assignment,
> but did it none-the-less.
>
> Stan
> Stan Brager
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daryl Burch [mailto:daryl at burchinteractive.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 2:24 PM
> To: James O'Briant
> Cc: Trombone Forum
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Plunger Mute question...
>
> I would add:
>
> It really depends on the sound you want. I personally prefer the old,
> cheap rubber ones with the wooden handle. The rubber dampens some of
> the brightness off the sound and lets you growl pretty hard. And
> since it's rubber you can squish to make different shapes or shades
> to your sound. Of course, the clerk at the hardware store will look
> at you funny if you don't get the handle, too...
>
> Some like the H&B's with the finger loop on the front.
>
> Side note (pun intended): I always loved listening to Snooky Young
> work with a plunger. He could really make the thing talk. Steve Turre
> did a great duet recording of "Since I Fell For You" on his Rhythm
> Within album with Britt Woodman. Steve plays plungered and Britt
> plays open. They alternate A's & bridges. And the rhythm section is a
> shell choir (with Robin Eubanks) and shakers. A beautiful recording.
>
> Cheers!
> -D-
> www.burchinteractive.com
> O: 707.927.4152
> C: 707.338.8338
> E: daryl at burchinteractive.com
>
> "The real warriors are the ones with the pocket protector
> shields! ...in today's Camelot, anyway."
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 5, 2009, at 2:00 PM, Jeff Albert wrote:
>
> There are multiple sizes, although the hardware store might not have
> multiple sizes.  I have found that most stores have the 5.5 inch
> variety.
>  You can get 6 inch ones, and I like the bigger ones.  I don't know
> that it
> really makes all that much difference, but I have a stack of them,
> and swear
> they all sound different. ;)
> Jeff
>
> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 3:49 PM, James O'Briant <jobriant at garlic.com>
> wrote:
>
>> As a long-time tuba player (50 years) I'm going to partially
>> "return to my roots" and attend a trad jazz camp as a trombone
>> student.  One of the things I need to get is a plunger mute.
>>
>> Before I run down to the hardware store to buy one, can someone
>> with some experience with these things tell me whether they come
>> in more than one size?  If so, is there a "best" size to get?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Jim O'Briant
>> Trombone (1957-1959, 2009- )
>> Tuba (1959- )
>> Gilroy, CA
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Trombone-l at samford.edu
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>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> ===========================
> Jeff Albert
> (985) 966-6093
>
> www.jeffalbert.com
> www.scratchmybrain.com
> www.openearsmusic.org
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>
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