Amazing Conn video

[bisontuba]

From the Sax Museum...amazing Conn video...and I already told them the tuba player is Fred Pfaff....

Enjoy.

[prairieboy1]

That is an absolute gem of a video! Thank you so much for posting it. To be able to put names to faces and also hear that glorious sound. It made my day! A recording bell tuba in that fine ensemble!

[tylerferris1213]

Wow! Thank you for sharing this. I've always loved Conn tubas.

[Three Valves]

Cornet player seemed familiar...

[Jim Williams]

I had the chance to meet Fred Pfaff in the late 1970s/early 80s(?) when I visited Lee Richardson in Florida. When Lee and I pulled up to Fred's house, he greeted us from his roof, where he was fixing a few shingles. Of course, he was around 80 at the time. His son Lou was at the house during our visit.
When he got down from the roof, Lee and I joined him to listen to some of his recordings, several of which were discs that played from the inside out, IIRC. That was an amazing visit to a true legend. As most legends are, he was modest about his musical legacy.

...and I wonder if any of you had the opportunity to cross paths with Lee Richardson, a truly gentle soul and a fine player. I first met Lee through Walter Sear in 1968 or 1969, and we spent a lot of time together talking music and life. The last times I saw Lee in person were during the 70s/80s in Louisville and then in Florida. He had been an instrument technician for the Louisville schools, then went down to Disney. After that our paths diverged, and I received word of his death via mutual friends.

So while we pay some well-deserved tribute to Fred Pfaff, I hope many of you have memories of Lee Richardson that are as fond as mine.

Jim

[LeMark]

nice. this however, will always be my favorite Conn promotional film

[Jim Williams]

The young shy boy in this video was Bruce (Buzz) Podewell, who went on to two careers: one as a trad jazz banjo artist and one as a very successful and admired Professor of Theatre at Tulane Univ.

I had the pleasure to work with Buzz in 1969-70 in Your Father's Mustache, a banjo-band night club in the Village. On the bandstand, he was a vast storehouse of knowledge and a kind mentor to a young (then) tuba player. Off the bandstand, on breaks, we shared a common passion for crossword puzzles.

This series of videos in this thread has reminded me that there are some very fine musicians around who are interested in helping others develop their skills. I enjoyed the time I spent with Buzz on the stand at YFM.

@UncleBeer did you ever come across Buzz?

Jim

[edfirth]

I never got to meet Fred but became good friends with Lee. He was playing in the Pearly Band at the Rat(1983) and had followed Fred into the Orlando Symphony before that. We both worked at Epcot and spent alot of great hours listening to Kilton Vynl Smith with the BSO and the Pops as well as a healthy serving of Guy Lombardo. He talked about us going to see Fred but Fred faded out and it never happened. Lee gave me a tape of Fred playing a "recital" when he was eighty something backed up by the orchestra's brass quintet with Lee on tuba(3+1 Martin Eb) that was/is amazing.Here's a great Fred story told to me by Lee. Toscaninni had just taken the NBC symphony job and sent a runner to Fred's apartment in NYC to offer him the tuba position.Fred declined but later the runner returned and said "Maestro Toscaninni really likes the way you play the tuba" to which Fred responded "Tell him I don't like the way he conducts". Lee was a terrific tuba player in all styles and my closest friend. He was diagnosed with inopperable kidney cancer but pursued further medical opinions and had the offending kidney removed(he suffered with kidney stones all the time I was around him) and they pronouned him cured. So he got hip new glasses and all was cool until one night when I was taking him a Conn 20 j at his job at the Grand Floridian when he got real sick and went home. I visited him some but he never came back and everyone who knew him misses him. One of my favorite Lee'isms was his advice to the college program tuba players "Left is open, right is one and three''''. Everyone who knew him is better off for it. Ed

[LeMark]

The young shy boy in this video was Bruce (Buzz) Podewell, who went on to two careers: one as a trad jazz banjo artist and one as a very successful and admired Professor of Theatre at Tulane Univ.

I had the pleasure to work with Buzz in 1969-70 in Your Father's Mustache, a banjo-band night club in the Village. On the bandstand, he was a vast storehouse of knowledge and a kind mentor to a young (then) tuba player. Off the bandstand, on breaks, we shared a common passion for crossword puzzles.

This series of videos in this thread has reminded me that there are some very fine musicians around who are interested in helping others develop their skills. I enjoyed the time I spent with Buzz on the stand at YFM.

@UncleBeer did you ever come across Buzz?

Jim

That's awesome. I had no idea how nickname was Buzz in real life. I see that he passed away, I'm sorry to hear that

[Three Valves]

"Mister" B Flat.

"Is that Liberace's mother??"

[UncleBeer]

@UncleBeer did you ever come across Buzz?

Nope.

[Mary Ann]

Where did it go? Nothing showing here.

[Jim Williams]

@UncleBeer did you ever come across Buzz?

Nope.

I keep forgetting...you're MUCH younger than I am.

[Jim Williams]

Where did it go? Nothing showing here.

MA,
If you have an adblocker running, the video won't appear.
Jim