Chris Tune's Blog

Here is studio ace, Dick Nash discussing the ballad style technique of vibrato. Here is someone who can really play the heck out of a ballad discussing this key tecnique for singing style.

You also have to get through the awards part BECAUSE Bird and Diz do "Hothouse" and there is much great soloing. This is so far back Diz had not had the bend in his bell . . .the upward tilted bell he was known for. . .that was yet to come. This is 1951. This is BEBOP! After you listen to this, then you can tell people you know what bebop is. . .(the term is misued like so many others in jazz). Charlie Parker & Dizzy Uploaded by trombone-usa

Since this is the world of Web 2.0 and that means that web pages are more and more assembled out of "pieces" of data from all over. . .then by all means we should hip ourselves to the very estimable Mr. Rosolino as he bebops on the most difficult of instruments to do that on. . .the trombone. Here is yet another great performance by Frank Rosolino playing jazz trombone to the utmost. Frank introduces this tune as being by "Monk, who writes with the 'funk' and that's no 'bunk'. . ." :) Frank Rosolino VI Uploaded by trombone-usa This is truly the guy you need to listen to if you are going to try and survive as a bebop trombone jazz player. You would also do well to listen to JJ Johnson, Kai Winding, Carl Fontana, Curtis Fuller, and really a host of other worthy bone players. But perhaps the important thing about Frank is that we have a lot of high quality and it is available to be heard. Don't be misled by false notions of "West Coast ...

I'm devoting my site to jazz trombone from here on out. I've seen how political blogs can get "blogged" down . . .what is more fun than music? And since I particularly like jazz like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Jack Teagarden. . .and well this guy below. . .well then this site should mainly be about jazz trombone. I'm unsure if this will work but this is supposed to be Frank Rosolino: Frank Rosolino II Uploaded by trombone-usa We shall see. . .won't we? Or maybe you will see one of the greatest to ever blow jazz on this awkward instrument, the trombone. Frank was probably "certifiable" in a lot of different senses of the word, I'd tend to remember him as certifiably the greatest bebop trombone player (I even have to shift the very, very fine JJ and Kai down to just beneath this guy. . .he's that important to me in the world of bop). Anyway stay tuned. Chris

This is very good news. The many open source items available now provide wonderful, FREE, software sources. I have several of them. . .Open Office (much like MS Office). . .Audacity (Digital Audio Recording) and several others. In fact, free software these days can allow you to do almost anything. . .so always look at the open source before you dive in and BUY. The Bible is available in really quite a few translations in open source form, with a project called SWORD (probably more like S WORD, as in "Software Word". .more likely knowing Christians, rather than the weapon thingy. .) For those of us who are interested in studying the bible, as I believe most intelligent folk are. . .this is . . .well. . .a GODSEND. Now you can put this on any computer you have and can be content that you have a legal copy of the word on your computer and can search it and research it at your own pace. Can you tell I'm happy about this? Of course it is a good idea also to have a hard co...

Andy Rooney says he is not going to think about those who have died to protect our country. . .he claims that war is our LEAST noble deed. . .he doesn't get it. He is so simple that he is not just a FOOL, but is FOOLING everyone. No nuance. . .no thought. . .no MEAT to his actual ravings. Does he honestly think that war against Hitler or against Pol Pot, or against EVIL. . .is not Noble? Not at ALL? Does he not discriminate between one action and another similar action? Can't he tell if WWII was justified on the part of the Allies? After all Hitler had repeatedly attacked most of Europe! This wasn't an action of Britain, or the U.S. Herr Hitler did it! Andy? . . . Andy? . . .WAKE UP!!! Laura Ingraham lapsed a bit today. . she seemed to think that she has to respect her elders. . . .actually I believe the commandment is to "honor your mother and father. ." There is no requirement for a Christian to respect older folk who are obviously weak of mind. . .an...

 This was taken several years ago. Daisy seems to want to hog into the picture a bit. Adam is having a good time. This is in the back yard on the swing Michele and I made. 

 This is the KID PICTURE from my wife, Michele. I think she was very cute. :-) 

  This is what I looked like at around age 7 or 8. Now, Adam was looking a LOT like this just a few years ago. Funny how the "circle of life" goes. . .I guess we have a pretty lovable little bloke here. . .? Yeah. . it's cool being a kid. . . I was pretty thrilled to be "ridin' herd as a 'cowpoke'" 

  This was a great gig. The "Direct from Vegas" The Rat Pack. . .show. This was Don Gustafson and myself on bones. . .Scott Strecker, leader. . .and other than hassles from Local 47, was a pure pleasure experience. . this was a "verbatim" style performance replicating the rat pack schtick. . you should know that is the way Sammy and Dean and Frank did it. . .they had written material which they tossed into the show in a loose, improvised manner. It allowed them to do shows solo, or with various combinations of the rat pack guys. . .I have a couple of show recordings of the three. . and a couple with just Frank or with just Dean. The same jokes. .different persons delivering. . different "victims". . .heh!. . .heh! This is very funny and is done with a real, live big band! 

  

The heart of the matter. . to my trombone player heart; here are the Kanstul bones 

NAMM is really huge; here we see some of the immense Roland set  

Kanstul and its excellent brass instruments. Steve Ferguson also carries these excellent horns 

Here is a bit of the NAMM show from a year ago; I liked some of these horns a lot 

Here are Alan Kaplan (studio trombonist extraordinaire!) and Steve Ferguson (with several of his inventory of excellent trombones . . .he also sells tubas, horn and trumpet and all the best ancillary items like mutes and mouthpieces). This is at John Sandhagen's "Boneyard" meet after Easter a few years ago. Alan is holding a copy of my CD with my home recordings. He liked the playing and was very nice about listening to it and commenting. 

Imagine this as a CONDO! I'm having a spaz attack over this! Thanks a lot Hip Hoppers! You are really helping out! 

Here is an old photo from about four or so years ago; it was in the famous Studio A at Capitol; I heard that there is thought about converting the Capitol Records building into a condo or apartments! [boy! all that history. . .] as you walk through the hall you see black and white framed photos of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. . .in the same studio you are working in. This session was with Nick DeGidio. . .I'm hoping for good things for his songs. . they are hip and aggressive swing tunes. 

Here I am with horn a couple of years ago in the Burbank Starlight Bowl; this was a "Direct from Vegas - The Rat Pack" show, that means it was GREAT! This is a hoot; imagine Frank and Sammy and Dean right there. . .doing their routines and singing. . just like at the Sands in the sixties. . . 

Adam and Michele at the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland; this was several years ago when we had an annual pass