Lassus Trombone

[PaulT]

It was old music out, new music in, day at band practice yesterday. One of the new pieces is "Lassus Trombone" by Henry Fillmore. What does "Lassus" mean, as regards the title? A person, a technique, a tradition, a something or other?

[BGuttman]

Lassus was part of a series of "novelty" numbers by Henry Fillmore called the "Trombone Family". There is a lot of non-PC backstory to each member of the "family" in pseudo Negro dialect that really doesn't ring well today. But 100 years ago it would be par for the course.

Lassus has a lot of very exposed "smears" (glisses). Lassus is probably the best known of the Trombone Family although I think some of the others were better. The Band version has 3 parts which are pretty much unison except for a couple of chordal parts; including a really nice smear chord.

These pieces gave Fillmore the nickname of "Hallelujah Trombone", especially for one member of the "family" called "Shoutin' Liza" which sounds a little like the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

[timothy42b]

Lassus is one of the "road map" features, in that if you don't pay careful attention to first ending, second ending, following ending, DC, DS, etc., you will end up lost.

I know it quite well and am sometimes the only one NOT lost when a band plays it for the first time.

[BGuttman]

Roadmap is right! We used to do this with my Dixieland Band as a way to feature me. I was one of the few players who didn't get lost. You may need to carefully mark your part for the repeats, DS's, and DC's. Especially if you have the original march size version.

It's set up like a march, with repeated first strain, trio, and back to the first strain.

[JohnL]

I've heard that it's somehow related to molasses, as a reference to the smears that appear throughout.

Alternatively, "lassus" translates from Latin as weary or tired - possibly a reference to a certain stereotype common in the era.

At any rate, they're probably best approached as a rag. Strict time, accents on the off beats. Under no circumstances should the eighth notes swing.

[PaulT]

I got completely lost.

And I was the only trombone at practice. I threw in random glisses and toots based on a partial recall of how the tune should sound... and I got applause for my bravery.

But, I will be ready, or closer to ready, by next practice. I found a youtube of the Air Force band playing the same arrangement, so I was able to follow along with my music in hand.

Youtube is quite the deal. How to fix the washing machine one day, how to play a trombone part the next, with Beethoven, Tuba Skinny, and the Smothers Brothers in between.

[Mikebmiller]

I played Lassus Trombone for 100 4 year olds this morning. They loved it.

[keybone]

I played Lassus Trombone for 100 4 year olds this morning. They loved it.

When I was teaching school band, I recruited a lot of beginning trombonists by playing Lassus Trombone. With all those new low brass players, it made for some well balanced bands/jazz bands a few years later!

[KRRath]

Two of the community bands I play in perform this every summer. We tried skipping a year, but got complaints from the regular members of the audience. The trombone section stands for the entirety of the piece, since most of us have it memorized.

[timothy42b]

I've played in bands that did it every year, and also bands that insisted on Amparito Roca for an encore every concert.

There are some more international trombone features.

Frolic for Trombone I'm told is equivalent in the UK. I was also told I played it rather badly and way too slow by their standards, in this trombone feature with a local community band:
https://app.box.com/s/5d0254f346c991a7d0fa
That was on pBone as a novelty. I'm better now, I swear.

And I think a German equivalent might be Bayrische Polka:

She plays a bit better than me though!

[Pre59]

It's always been a mystery to me why only the trombone gets asked to play glissandi, but never violinists or cellists. I used to have a bit of spiel when punters would come over and ask me to play a "naaahh". Which was to play rapid separated notes soft tongued up and down the slide, and to act confused and deny that it's possible. Then as they walk back to their table I would play one very very quietly; it usually got a laugh.