[Trombone-l] Plunger Mute question...

Wed Jan 7 11:40:37 CST 2009

Thanks, Tom. The show includes a good example of "Tricky Sam" Nanton's
plunger sound on Duke Ellington's 1938 composition and recording "Jazz
Potpourri". Listen to the show at 19:30.

Stan

Stan Brager

From: Tom Gibson [mailto:tbonegib at bellsouth.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 3:27 PM
To: Daryl Burch
Cc: Tom Gibson; Stan Brager; 'Trombone Forum'; 'Samuel Keyser'
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Plunger Mute question...

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

 <mailto:tom at trombonelessons.com> tom at trombonelessons.com

Visit me at iTunes:

<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=211712645>
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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(985) 966-6093

www.jeffalbert.com

www.scratchmybrain.com

www.openearsmusic.org

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