We went through some of this on
this thread. It appears that the "flatness"...and he is only "flat" at the beginnings of most notes...and relatively strange pitch is an accepted fact in the euph world to some degree because of tuning issues on the Besson horns that were the dominant instrument in that scene for so many years.
So it goes.
If he played like that in say the NY or London Philharmonics he would be gone.
Virtuoso or not.
Bet on it.
S.
I guess we're into the no holds barred segment here. I'm also on this side of the pond, but the exposure to good euphonium playing is higher up here. The Queen on our money and all that.
Maybe I'm missing a lot here, but as a former euph player, and what I'm hearing, I see this as kind of looking for areas of improvement in Joe Alessi's playing. Or JJ's, Rosalino's etc. They don't need me to tell them, that's for sure.
Maybe the BBC Phil isn't the London, but the David Childs and the whole Childs family are doing well. His performance schedule is pretty much the envy of any performer.
I would expect that you will see David perform with the London in the future. I'd bet on that.
If I heard Joe or J.J. or Rosolino lipping up almost every note they played yes, you're damned right I'd mention it. Only thing is...I don't. I don't mean anything personal by this...it's just what I am hearing. And "stardom" has its perks, as well. I don't know whether David Childs is going to be playing with the London Philharmonic anytime soon nor do I know if he will be doing so as part of the ensemble or as a soloist. As a soloist? Like I said...stardom has its perks. One of them is being able to get away with all
kinds of bullshit. I hear this in the playing of any number of "stars" both in the orchestral and in the non-orchestral world. If you put asses in the seats, you can play or sing as flat or sharp as you damned well please and they'll still hire you. In the ensemble? Back in the mineshafts where I often work? We pretty much ignore 'em if they're out of tune and collect our paycheck. Bet on it. And if some starfucker contractor or conductor hires them to play in the ensemble, we suffer through it in relative silence unless we have some serious pull in the ensemble itself.
But if we have any say about it whatsoever...we hire someone who deals with tone, time, good idiomatic playing, blend and pitch first. No matter who he is. Famous
or unknown. Why? Because it makes our job more enjoyable, that's why. And because generally we are more involved with the holy act of music-making instead of the (usually) totally
unholy act of being an exhibitionist star.
So it goes.
Miles Davis (in his prime), Pablo Casals, Dennis Brain, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Jack Teagarden...name 'em in any idiom. There wasn't much in the way of virtuoso fireworks going on in their playing. They just played the music and they did so with a careful ear to pitch. I don't hear this in my brief exposure to the virtuoso euph tradition as it is being presented in the Brit competitive band scene, and this does ot surprise me. It ain't
about who is "best" as far as I am concerned.
It's just about the music.
And the whole "This band wins!!!" mentality militates
against the primacy of music in many respects. You can measure who plays faster or louder or higher. You cannot "measure" musicality. It lives on another plane, and it is a plane that often does not sell very well.
That's OK, though.
The real ones jes' keep on playing anyway.
There are other rewards...
Now this man?
David Childs?
I do not mean to criticize him on an overall basis. This is all that I have heard from him. But this example matches the other example presented in this section from a different player in a different band, and I am beginning to hear a trend there.
Now this other player? The Swiss Gilles Rocha?
Right on the money!!!
Check him out. He's playing a "baritone", not a euph.
From an email he sent me:
Maybe it's the euph tradition that is getting in the way.
I dunno.
I just call 'em like I hear 'em.
No offense intended.
But no ground given, either.
Later...
S.
