Re: Jazz

Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2003 04:25:18 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.french-horn,rec.music.makers.jazz
Size: 1,823 bytes

"Peter H.M. Brooks" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
news:bbhbd8$fc9$email-address-deleted...
> Just a question. People have said to me (most recently after an excellent
> Jazz evening on Friday) that the French Horn is not a jazz instrument.
>
> Why is that?
>
> Is it simply historical or is there a deeper, or more practical reason?
>
> I know that, now that I think of it, I haven't seen one in a jazz
> environment, I'd think, though, that the sound would be a tremendous
adjunct
> to many things that jazz players are, and have been, doing.
>
> Surely jazz is not so fossilized that it can't change over time?
>
>
One reason: it's in F. Most jazz instruments are in Bb or C, which makes
life a whole lot easier when you're reacting to keys.
Another reason: It's devlishly hard compared to the other instruments you
usually find in a jazz band.
A third: horns don't project like bones, trumpets, saxes.
One more: Kids start playing jazz generally in high school. Horn players
are usually behind their trumpet/bone counterparts for any of a number of
other reasons (clueless band directors, a harder instrument, etc.) and jazz
band directors don't want to put up with players missing notes all the time.
And the canned sheet music that's out there for the high school crowd
doesn't have a lot of horn parts.
There are some great jazz hornists out there (see Harlan Feinstein's page at
http://feinsteins.net/music/jazzhorn.html for what may be the most complete
summary available), but it's a tough road to hoe. You might as well ask why
there aren't any jazz euphonium players out there (no doubt there are a
few).
Look at it this way: while it may not be a 'jazz' instrument, you won't
find any other instrument besides the horn that can fill roles in both brass
and woodwind ensembles, and do it so well.