The mellophonium
What
looks like a french horn on steroids?
The Conn 16E Mellophonium. Imagine a section of four or five that can part
your hair from across the room. Keeping it in tune - ahh, that's the
challenge.
If you want to hear the Conn 16E Mellophonium played well, try Don Elliott, Alternate
Routes (Tantara Productions label) with Ray Starling, or any of the Stan Kenton "Horns of Plenty" series; or anything else from
Stan Kenton from 1960 through 1963 such as:
Adventures
in Blues
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Adventures
in Jazz
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Adventures
in Time
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A Merry
Christmas (excellent all year long!)
reissued with Maynard's Christmas For
Moderns.
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Stan Kenton's West Side
Story
(the best version
ever recorded, I believe)
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More
Mellophonium Moods
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If
you want to play the mellophonium yourself, check school instrument
auctions or www.ebay.com. Of course,
you'll need a helpful mouthpiece - like the Al Cass mellophonium model.
This piece uses a trumpet rim with a mellophone cup. Intonation is
the most important consideration. You don't want a bright trumpet
sound, it should be more French Horn-like. And you'll need all the help
you can get it if you're going to play some of those soaring Kenton
charts - in tune.
Or, you could just get one of the newer Yamaha YMP204MS mellophones used
by the Drum Corp and use a more traditional
(and easier to find) mouthpiece. The MelloCast has some great reviews for you which explain the differences between the various models and their strengths and weaknesses.
Want
to listen to some mellophonium pieces that are more current?
Try this:
Erik Lindgren at http://www.arfarfrecords.com/
which goes directly to his personal web page.
"The two pieces I think I played it on are "There Is No One" (recorded
by my ensemble Birdsongs of the Mesozoic) and a soundtrack for Showcase
Cinema back in 1979. But that piece I don't think ever came out except
for in-theater airplay," Erik told me.
Oh yeah, there's also http://birdsongsofthemesozoic.org
"which goes directly to my ensemble's site." "There Is No One" I think
is on our 1989 Faultline CD, Erik said.
Other links to mellophonium websites:
MelloCast
Middle Horn Leader
Wikipedia
Noel Wedder's site
Jazz Professional site
For
other brass treats, try Maynard Ferguson. His passing sadly
ends 35 years of concert enjoyment for thousands and thousands of fans.
I only got to see him live from 1973 through 2005. Try "Country
Road" on MF Horn 2. Wow.
Music
brain food:
Jazz Hoot - Woody Herman
Adventures in Time - Stan Kenton
Ellington '55 - Duke Ellington
Sinatra's Swingin' Session! - Frank Sinatra
The Best of James Bond 30th Anniversary collection - John Barry
If
you want to email Eric Dahlinger,
send to: eric@dahlinger.net
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