Vintage
Program Notes
a reissued album by...
The Tennessee Tech Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble
R. Winston Morris, director
Personnel
The Tennessee Tech Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble (1975 & 76)
Euphoniums
- Carson Caldwell
- Bill Cherry
- Alan Clark
- Tim Greer
- Nancy Holland
- Bruce Maples
- Joseph Northcut
- Nancy Parrott
- Dan Stancil
- Tom Tupper
Tubas
- Bill Acuff
- Marcus Arnold
- Flo Crouch
- George Gray
- Marty Hill
- Mike Kincaid
- Tim Lawhern
- Scott Myckowiak
- Ronald Peace
- Steve Smelcer
- Myron Stringer
- Harold Tipton
Rhythm
- Marimba:Charles Hiebert
- Traps: Charles Covington
- Percussion: Neil Rutland
- Percussion:Thomas Wilson
- Guitar: Richard Lane
Program
- When Tubas Waltz................................................ Alfred H. Bartles
- Brazil................................................................ Ary Barroso/arr. Morris
- Tuba Juba Duba................................................................ Terry Hutchinson
- Malaguena...................................................... Ernesto Lecuona/arr. Morris
- Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor........................................... J.S. Bach/arr. Morris
Concerto Basso.................................................................................. Walter Ross - Adagio/Allegro feroce
- Marche Funebre
- Allegro scherzando
- Come, Sweet Death!................................. J.S. Bach/arr. Sauter
(dedicated to the memory of William J. Bell) - Reflections on a Park Bench............................................... David Beale
- Air from Suite No. 3 in D.................................. J.S.Bach/tr. Harvey Phillips
Treatments for Tuba.................................. Richard Stroud - Allegro
- Lento
- Presto Agitato
Recording Notes
When the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble Golden Crest, LP: QCRS 4139 (SQ Quadrophonic recording) was recorded on April 26, 1975, by the late Clark Galehouse, it was the first commercially produced tuba ensemble recording devoted exclusively to the tuba ensemble. Our dear friend Connie Weldon at the University of Miami also produced a tuba ensemble recording that year which was released on their private label. And, Abe Torchinsky and his group from the University of Michigan also recorded an album for Golden Crest which was shared with their percussion ensemble. Since that initial TTTE recording, the ensemble has produced over 20 recordings between 1975 and 2006, making it certainly the most recorded tuba ensemble in history.
The original Golden Crest master tapes were safely archived in Long Island, New York thanks to Mr. John Broven and his wife Shelley (Clark's daughter) who still operate the CFG Publishing Co. (Clark F. Galehouse, of course). We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Broven for his diligence in locating the original session tapes and for his permission to reissue this historic material. In this regard, we also take great pleasure in dedicating this CD to the late Mr. Clark F. Galehouse who had the vision to record incredible music on his label. Clark was a friend of ours and we thoroughly enjoyed working with him on these two recording projects. The 1975 recording was done on the Tennessee Tech campus after Clark flew all his equipment down from New York and we set up shop in the Derryberry Hall Auditorium on the Tech campus. The 1976 recording took place in the Golden Crest studios in Huntington Station, New York following the first performance of the TTTE in the famous Carnegie Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
The original tapes for these two recordings were 30 years old and were carefully "baked", copied, transferred and edited by Mr. Tom Moulton. There is some distortion and from time to time a dropped second or so of sound. Considering the age and condition of the tapes we think Mr. Moulton did a great job and we extend our deep appreciation to him for his dedication to his craft.
The quality of the repertoire and the performance of the (then) young players speaks for itself on these tracks. Tuba ensemble repertoire has grown incredibly in the past 30 years but the quality of the original compositions on this release holds up to anything currently being composed. The David Beale is perhaps the single most ambitious composition ever attempted for the tuba/euphonium ensemble. The Walter Ross is still a stable of the tuba ensemble repertoire. The other arrangements and compositions are as much fun to listen to and perform now as they were 30 years ago.
The Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble celebrates its 40th anniversary during the 2006/2007 academic year and we take tremendous pride in being able to reissue these recordings.
As always, we cannot thank Mark Morette and everyone at Mark Records enough for their continued support. The TTTE has recorded exclusively for Mark Records since 1985. We invite the listener to check out the complete discography of the TTTE as posted on our website.
Fall 2007 International Tuba/Euphonium Association Journal Reviews
These three recordings [All That Jazz, Heavy Metal, and Vintage] are compilations from previous recordings of the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble (TTTE). This ensemble celebrated their 40 th anniversary during the 2006/2007 academic year. These recordings were reissued to celebrate this anniversary. In the spring of 1967 R. Winston Morris, the director of the TTTE, approached Vincent Morette about possibly recording the TTTE. At that time there were only 4 totally dedicated to tuba LPs: Bill Bell, Rex Conner, Harvey Phillips and Peter Popiel. It is amazing to see the difference now in regards to tuba and euphonium recordings available.
Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble presents… Vintage is a reissue of the first two complete LP recordings by the TTTE. These were originally under the Golden Crest label and were recorded in 1975. Tuba ensemble recordings were becoming more prominent as Connie Weldon ( University of Miami ) and Abe Torchinsky ( University of Michigan ) were also releasing recordings that year. Since the original tapes were 30 years old there is some distortion and the sound quality is not what we hear today in current recordings. The playing and the quality of the repertoire, however, hold up to today's standards. Many of the works on this recording were written for the TTTE or were arranged by Winston Morris himself. Since this initial recording, the TTTE has produced 20 recordings making it the most recorded tuba ensemble in history.
Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble and “All That Jazz” is a reissue of four previous recordings between 1979 and 1986. Two of the recordings were from the KM Records label and two were from the Mark College Jazz Series label. One of the recordings was a live recording from the NTSU (now University of North Texas ) tuba conference. This recording was live with no edits. One unique aspect of this recording is that several of the pieces are arrangements done by members of the ensemble. That is one of the things that Winston Morris is known for, creating new music for the tuba ensemble. Whether it was commissioning new works, arranging music himself, or having students in the ensemble write/arrange new works, there is always new music being performed. In this recording it is also easy to see the influence of the Matteson-Phillips TUBAJAZZ CONSORT on the TTTE. Morris was a member of the consort, and he believes that jazz music should be a part of the education in the tuba/euphonium studio. In this recording we see the benefits of this philosophy.
Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble presents… Heavy Metal is a reissue of three previous recordings between 1979 and 1986. Two of the recordings were from the KM Records label and two were from the Mark College Jazz Series label. It is mentioned in the notes that all of the works were original compositions for the tuba/euphonium ensemble. All of the pieces except for one were written specifically for the TTTE. Again, the sound quality is not what we hear in today's recordings, but it is very respectable. Much work goes into transferring a LP to a digital format. I must confess that this recording was the first I heard of a tuba ensemble. I encountered it as a high school student and the possibilities of these instruments blew me away. I especially enjoy the Crawford Gates and the Wayne Pegram compositions.
It is important to acknowledge Mark Morette in these recordings. Mark has taken his father's vision, and it has blossomed into a recording label that is recognized as a standard in the tuba/euphonium community. Without his passion for our instruments and our music, it would be difficult to imagine where we would be today.
I believe these three recordings are a significant step in the evolution of the tuba/euphonium ensemble. They were some of the earlier recordings of this type of ensemble out of which new music was created for future groups. R. Winston Morris' vision has come to fruition 40 years later, and it is great to re-visit these pioneer recordings. I would highly recommend these recordings to all enthusiasts of the tuba and euphonium.
~Kelly Thomas
University of Arizona
