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The Brass Junkies

The Brass Junkies, hosted by former Boston Brass tuba player Andrew Hitz and a rotating cast of characters, features interviews with the best and brightest brass players in the world. Subject matter includes everything from the serious to the ridiculous, just like the music business.
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Now displaying: May, 2019
May 28, 2019

TBJ112: Matt Niess on The Capital Bones, 3 x 3, and getting help from the "Trombone Angel"

Matt Niess is a multifaceted trombonist who served with The U.S. Army Band in Washington, DC and currently serves as Adjunct Associate Professor, Classical and Jazz Trombone at Shenandoah Conservatory.

From his bio page:

Matt Niess is a cross over trombonist who served with The U.S. Army Band in Washington, DC from 1988-2018 where he played with The Army Blues and The Army Brass Quintet. He is from Levittown, PA where he attended Woodrow Wilson High School. He earned an undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education from West Chester University in 1988, a Masters degree in classical trombone performance from George Mason University in 1996 and a DMA in classical trombone performance from The Catholic University of America in 2015.

He was director of bands at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick, MD from 1986-1988, and has taught on the jazz faculties of Shenandoah, George Mason, and Towson Universities.  He also served as director of jazz studies and professor of trombone at West Chester University from 2003-2007. Currently, he is the professor of jazz trombone at George Mason University and professor of trombone at The Shenandoah Conservatory teaching both jazz and classical. With The Army Blues he has served as Senior Producer and Jazz Coordinator of the Eastern Trombone Workshop producing over 300 concerts at various venues ranging from The White House to the Monterey Jazz Festival.

In 2008 he founded the National Jazz Workshop which runs two summer camps and sponsors a year-round honor band. To date over 1,000 students have participated in “NJW”. The year-round band has performed at The Kennedy Center, The Jazz Education Network, New Orleans, St. Louis, Dallas, Blues Alley, and numerous jazz festivals. He is the founder and director of The Capitol Bones, a jazz trombone ensemble, which has received national recognition and was winner of the 1991 International Trombone Association Kai Winging Award.

He has appeared as a soloist, clinician, and adjudicator at numerous venues including The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, IAJE, JEN, ITA, ETW, MENC, PMEA, VMEA, University of Las Vegas, University of North Texas, West Virginia University, Disneyland & Disneyworld All-American College Band, James Madison University, UARTS, University of Utah, The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, Longwood College, The U.S. Air Force “Noteables”, Mary Washington College, Shepherd College, University of Kentucky, University of Texas, George Mason University, University of Wisconsin, Towson University, University of North Carolina, Shenandoah University, Longwood College, West Chester University, University of Tennessee and others.

With The Army Band he has performed with Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen, Bill Watrous, Phil Wilson, Conrad Herwig, Carl Fontana, Don Menza, Chris Potter, John Clayton, Alabama, Rany Travis, Ertha Kitt, Allen Vizutti, Jon Faddis, The New York Voices, Terrell Stafford, Michael Abene, Dave Steinmeyer, Steve Turre, Tim Hagens, John Swana, James Moody, Buddy DeFranco, Dr. Billy Taylor, Bob Curnow, Mike Tomaro and many others.  Venues include  numerous Universities, schools and jazz festivals, I.A.J.E., ETW, The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, MENC, The Montreux Jazz Festival, The Monterey Jazz Festival, Elkhart Jazz Festival, International Trombone Festival, National Trumpet Competition, The Trumpet Guild, Performances abroad include Germany, Switzerland, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Russia, Cuba, Afghanistan, Norway and Sweden.

As a sideman he has performed with Ray Charles, Franky Valli, Pancho Sanchez, Shirley Jones, The Temptations, Diane Shuur, Joan Rivers, The Ink Spots, Merv Griffin, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra Jr., Ben Vereen, The Four Tops, The Manhattan Transfer, Pia Zadora, The Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra, David Baker, Bobby Caldwell, The Rob Parton Jazz Tech Big Band, The Gene Krupa Orchestra, Slide Hampton and many others.

He has produced CDs with The US Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, The West Chester University Criterions Jazz Ensemble, The Capitol Bones and The Capitol Bones Big Band and has appeared on many recordings to include The Mark Taylor/Steve Fidyk Big Band, The New Gene Krupa Orchestra, The Alan Baylock Big Band, Graham Breedlove, Doug Hamilton, The Mike Tomaro Big Band, over 100 recordings with The Studio A Big Band and The Washington Winds, Warner Bros. Publications, Alfred, FJH Music, Carl Fischer Music, Belwin Publications and Hal Leonard Publications. He has also recorded soundtracks for FOX TV, HBO, Discovery, and TLC.

In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:

  • Earbuds
  • From Houston to West Chester
  • Army Band
  • Lance is bad at math (3x7+3=? hint: not 30)
  • Becoming a band director in Frederick MD
  • Meeting the Navy Commodores and finding out about the Army Blues gig
  • Learned jazz
  • In his mind, he's 6'2"
  • Preparing for the Army Blues audition
  • Getting help from the "Trombone Angel"
  • Replacing Harry Watters in the Army Brass Quintet
  • Do everything three times, three times a day
  • Teaching at Shenandoah
  • Saddled with a work ethic
  • USAF Band stories
  • Mike Tomaro
  • National Jazz Workshop
  • The Capital Bones
  • The importance and value of sight-reading skills
  • Charles Colin "Rhythms Complete" book
  • What's the payoff for a piece of music
  • Bill Watrous running sound for The Capital Bones in Rochester
  • New Capital Bones album coming soon
  • Matt's kids are both freaky good musicians
  • The importance of speaking the language of jazz
  • Terry Bingham and a sweaty bald head

LINKS:

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

  • Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes.
  • Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron.
  • Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
  • Tell your friends!

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

May 14, 2019

TBJ111: Tim Buzbee on learning The Furies overnight, winning gigs in 8 countries and being put in a piece of metal

Tim Buzbee, Principal Tubist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, knows he would probably be flipping burgers if not for the help of teachers Ed Jones, Gene Pokorny, and Matt Good.

Tim Buzbee has been the Principal Tubist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2010. Tim grew up in Queen City, Texas and knows he would probably be flipping burgers if not for the help of teachers Ed Jones, Gene Pokorny, and Matt Good. He has performed as guest tubist with many orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Danish Radio Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Dallas Wind Symphony, Malaysia Philharmonic, and the Helsingborg Symphony.

As a soloist, he has performed with the Iceland Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Acapulco Symphony, Marshall Symphony and the “Pershing Own” Army Band in Washington D.C and currently has two solo CDs on the Albany Record label. Before taking his position at the MSO he held the Principal Tuba position at the Iceland Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Acapulco Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Gavle Symphony, and the Malmo Symphony.

In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:

  • Has won gigs in 8 different countries
  • Calling us from Australia in the middle of the night
  • Originally from Queen City TX (pop. 1,600)
  • Started on country fiddle, taking after his grandfather, later moved on to the bass guitar
  • Switched to euphonium and later was drawn to the tuba
  • Didn't take it seriously until mid-way through his undergrad
  • Being put in a piece of metal
  • Was going to work on a fishing boat in Alaska
  • Pantless Mahler 6 leading to a breaking and entering incident (and the launch of his career path)
  • Studying with Ed Jones
  • Learning the Three Furies 3rd movement in one night
  • The influence of Gene Pokorny
  • Making the simple beautiful
  • Having to play catch up 
  • Studying with Matt Good and Dave Kirk
  • Winning a few gigs before moving on to study with Gene Pokorny
  • Ed provided the foundation of fundamentals, Matt helped him understand what to do with the sound and Gene helped him build a musical product he could sell
  • Leaving a busy career in Chicago to go to Singapore
  • Following his own path
  • Singapore was too crowded for him so he moved on to Sweden
  • The differences in playing in those orchestras
  • Adding Iceland Symphony to the mix for a year
  • Tim's wife, Jessica (who he met while she was Principal Trombone in the same Swedish orchestra) also won a gig in Iceland and they eventually moved there
  • Having five kids
  • Flying with a tuba (hilarity and bent metal)
  • Audition strategy, switching from being physically prepared to be mentally prepared
  • Tim's forthcoming (hypothetical) book"The Death of American Brass Playing Due to the 3 T's (Tone, Time, Tuning)"
  • How do I make an emotional connection with a listener?
  • The 3 T's are too procedural and disconnect the player from the listener
  • Running mental audition processes ahead of auditions, changing the variables each time, always simulation culminating with him being announced as a winner
  • Every audition system is flawed in some way so you have to find a process to allow you to succeed in any situation
  • The influence of the book, "Unleash the Warrior Within" by Richard Machowicz
  • Mental toughness

LINKS:

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

  • Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes.
  • Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron.
  • Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
  • Tell your friends!

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

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