It is Big and it is Clever

Last night I was playing in a very unusual concert, it was a memorial concert for a friend who died earlier this year, many of his friends were there and quite a lot were playing in the band. This meant that the band was very large, including a bass section of four. Only one of us is a regular member of the band and we had not all managed to make a rehearsal, so the final run through was vital. The one member of the section who is a regular member had all the music, when he found that he had to work on Saturday and would be late he dropped the music around to me to take.


Because of uncertainty about who would be there with what instruments I ended up taking two tubas and a trombone, and stands. As I too had been working it was all a bit of rush to get showered changed and on my way, it was only when I had turned up at the hall (a little late) brought all the instruments in and stared to set up that I realised I had left all the music for the section at home! This is just about the ultimate sin for a musician. Fortunately I live close to the hall and could get home pick up the pads and get back before the run through had finished.

As a section we ended up with an interesting selection of instruments, Dave (the BFG) was playing his compact Cervany four rotor BBb, this is a very small tightly wound instrument, and as Dave is so large it looks more like a tenor horn when he is playing it.   Garth borrowed my old Besson EEb, this is a Sharp pitch conversion, four piston fully compensating New Standard, with a few bits robbed off a Besson Westminster BBb, I have removed the arching lugs and the ball off the bottom, but in Sovereign soft stops and pads neoprene water key pads, and most important of all a sovereign mouthpiece receiver ~ you won't see another like it!   Alec used his monster BBb this is an old American Conn with a recording (forward facing) bell.   Although this only has three valves it is so big that it is relatively easy to get "false" notes to fill in the gap between the true notes and the pedals, he can also get some outrageous pedals, this Conn really is a big beast.   I had planned to use the Besson if Garth hadn't had to borrow it, but instead opted for the New Toy the Conn International four rotor CC.

As Garth is out of practise I ended up playing the top line a lot of the time, on the instrument I bought specially for the low notes, however on occasion it must have sounded as though Alec and I were having a farting contest at the back as we "rifted" down an octave or two as the mood took us!   I now regret not getting a photo of the four instruments as I doubt if there will often be a section with four such unusual instruments.