TromboneChat

Frank Rosolino is one of my favorite trombonists, I'm curious to know what horns he has played in his lifetime.

6H

For Years Frank played an Olds with a Belair Mouthpiece.
I had one of these mouthpieces, really small and edgy but it gave me a glimps into Franks world.
Later n life he started playing a Conn 6H with a Warburton Mouthpiece

Man, it didn't matter what Frank played. He could play a hose with a funnel stuck in the end and he'd still sound like Frank. He could play anything. And he could play any note in any position. It was bizarre watching him play. You're watching and listening and going, "That note isn't in that position! How the fk did he do that?" and by the time you're done with that thought he's done it twice more. The man was not a conventional trombone player.

There was a similar thread where someone asked about George Roberts equipment and had similar responses. Sometimes people are curious about what people are playing on. Knowing Tommy Dorsey played a sterling 2B with an Almont mouthpiece doesn’t make me want to go out and drop $1k+ om a pure sterling mouthpiece, nor do I particularly care to sound like TD, but it’s interesting to me nonetheless.

I tried a Warburton Rosolino some years ago while on a stop in San Francisco. Small would be putting it mildly. There is some video of Frank on YouTube from 1962 playing what looks to be a Conn 6H.

Frank started playing his main (gold plated) 6H in about 1952 when he was with Stan Kenton. i’m not certain what he played before that. I’ve read that it was a 4H.

In the late 50’s/early 60’s, Olds built him a custom horn. That’s the one you see & hear in the “Jazz Scene USA” video above. It’s said that he preferred this horn over the 6H, but he was an artist for Conn.

Mouthpiece was BelAir 43 (or was it 41?). I’ve seen pictures with a Conn piece, and later the Warburton.

PS Tommy Dorsey didn’t play a sterling bell 2B.His bells were gold-burnished brass.

Hi.

Of course , super - skilled players as Frank Rosolino , Urbie Green , etc , could have played with any horn/ mpc , and sound the same .
Once , at Berklee of Boston , Phil Wilson picked up my bass trbn to play a solo , and he played the same , with a bigger tone , but exactly the same as usual..

Despite that , I think that master players CARES about equipment ; in fact , you see they playing with a X equipment along their carreer , with slightly changes . I am not talking about brand ( Conn , King , Bach , etc ) but about the horn ' bore and the mpc' size .If they switch , as Slide Hampton or Phil Wilson , from medium to large bore , then they stay on it . You do not see Urbie Green or Frank Rosolino playng on 0.547 bore trbn , with a 4G sized mpc .

So this means that they prefer a particolar equipment combinations , despite obviusly they can play (almost) on everything..

I am not a gear guy ar all ! Anyway I think that people care about X player' equipment for the sake of curiosity , and to have same examples of good horns/ mpcs combinations .
Of course , I guess no one thinks that with J.J. Johnson ' equipment one can play as well as him ...!

Regards
Giancarlo

GGJazz wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 9:52 am Hi.

Of course , super - skilled players as Frank Rosolino , Urbie Green , etc , could have played with any horn/ mpc , and sound the same .

This is a cliche. I don't think it's really true. "Any" is such a broad word -- I could pick a horn and mouthpiece that Frank would have sounded terrible on, guaranteed!

Hi again .
Hi Harrison .

Well , speaking about r super-gifted players , as Rosolino , Green , etc , I think that it is really possible that they could play on any horn . Of course , we are talking about picking up a horn/ mpc , and play for half an hours or so , not for 6 months...

I saw this happens many times . In addition to the episode I mentioned above about Phil Wilson ( he picked up my King 8B with Bach 1G mpc) , I remember Slide Hampton ( playing at the reherse with our band in Italy) playing super-great with a borrowed King 3B and maybe a Bach 6 1/2 AL , waiting his horn was repaired ( Bach 42 wiith 1 1/2 G mpc) ; then a famous european principal trombonist picking up a French Horn and blownig a fantastic "Siegfried Horn Call" , without playing even a note before the excerpt. And many more , during the years . These are not legends, I was there performing...

I think Rosolino could not have played "terrible" even blowing in a broken plastic tube...

Regards
Giancarlo

I think everyone here has made valid points.

Yes, of course EVERYONE has a preference as to what horn and mouthpiece they play. It's determined by what works with the kind of music you play, how you play, and what is most comfortable for you. For some, maybe it also involved what company made them a featured artist.

Sure, some folks might be curious about what equipment a particular player uses/used. I'm not one of them, but lots of folks are.

And sure, of course you can reach a point where it doesn't really matter what you play because everything important happens before the mouthpiece anyway, and you end up sounding like yourself on everything. And of course everyone still has a preference for what they are most comfortable playing.

So, Frank was of Italian descent. And he often wore turtlenecks with a light gray suit jacket. And he had a mustache. And disliked scallops. And had a very bitter divorce, but stayed in touch with his ex. And he cared about the world. And he mostly played a Conn 6H.

For those interested in what horn Frank Rosolino played during this video, at around 16:20 (and also a bit later, but less clearly) one can briefly see (headfirst) on the bell's rim the engraving "F E Olds & Son Fulle...".

Oslide wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2024 8:01 pm For those interested in what horn Frank Rosolino played during this video, at around 16:20 (and also a bit later, but less clearly) one can briefly see (headfirst) on the bell's rim the engraving "F E Olds & Son Fulle...".

The engraving, the wide chassis, the counterweight, and the large bell all say "O-15 Opera" to me.

But...

DaveAshley wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 4:43 amIn the late 50’s/early 60’s, Olds built him a custom horn. That’s the one you see & hear in the “Jazz Scene USA” video above.

So it's Olds, but how close it is to a stock O-15 is a whole 'nother question.

Greg Waits has seen the Olds, and posted photos on Facebook.
It's probably a straight .500 bore, close to the specs of the 6H.
I know it's kept in a Connstellation case.

GGJazz wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 1:03 pm

I think Rosolino could not have played "terrible" even blowing in a broken plastic tube...

Regards
Giancarlo

"Any" is a broad word

Hi folks.
Hi Harrison !

Ouch...poor horn...what happened to it ?
You are right ...with such a trombone , even Rosolino would have had serious problems to play ..!

Regards
Giancarlo

GGJazz wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2024 7:06 am Hi folks.
Hi Harrison !

Ouch...poor horn...what happened to it ?
You are right ...with such a trombone , even Rosolino would have had serious problems to play ..!

Regards
Giancarlo

It was somebody's student horn when I lived in Japan. They would use it for gigs where they needed to jump around a lot on stage. It got bumped and messed up so the slide stopped working. Then he ... Accidentally ran it over with his car...

Oslide wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2024 8:01 pm For those interested in what horn Frank Rosolino played during this video, at around 16:20 (and also a bit later, but less clearly) one can briefly see (headfirst) on the bell's rim the engraving "F E Olds & Son Fulle...".

You certainly can, I stand corrected!

Well, since that horn - according to Greg Waits / DaveAshley - seems to have been built "close to the specs of the 6H", you've not been too far out.