Frosty The Snowman Bass Trombone tour de force

[bellend]

Here's some absolutely fabulous bass trombone playing from Angus Butt and the Bone-afide trombone quartet playing their version of 'Frosty The Snowman'

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H

Enjoy !!!



BellEnd

[Vegasbound]

Nice!

[marccromme]

This is really a ruby gem, thanks for sharing!

[RustBeltBass]

Here's some absolutely fabulous bass trombone playing from Angus Butt and the Bone-afide trombone quartet playing their version of 'Frosty The Snowman'

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H

Enjoy !!!



BellEnd

I wonder how he would sound on a modern horn.

[hyperbolica]

Oh, yeah. With a name like that you've really got to commit. That's some playing and a great costume to boot.

[Posaunus]

You gotta love the conservative attire of those Brits ... bespoke tailoring and all!

[Kbiggs]

Beautiful playing, and wonderful, tasteful facility!

[Posaunus]

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H
BellEnd

And of course he's playing all this on a vintage 2G mouthpiece?

[FOSSIL]

Here's some absolutely fabulous bass trombone playing from Angus Butt and the Bone-afide trombone quartet playing their version of 'Frosty The Snowman'

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H

Enjoy !!!



BellEnd

I wonder how he would sound on a modern horn.

I've heard him play modern horns... That 62H is, for me on another level. Angus is going places...and he is such a nice guy.

Chris

[WGWTR180]

I wonder how he would sound on a modern horn.

I've heard him play modern horns... That 62H is, for me on another level. Angus is going places...and he is such a nice guy.

Chris

Just watched.

[WGWTR180]

Here's some absolutely fabulous bass trombone playing from Angus Butt and the Bone-afide trombone quartet playing their version of 'Frosty The Snowman'

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H

Enjoy !!!



BellEnd

I wonder how he would sound on a modern horn.

Great players can sound great on anything. They choose what they want to play.

[Fridge]

Wow! That’s really good! Very enjoyable to hear and see!

Eddie Clark

[SwissTbone]

The entire quartet sounds really good. Very talented musicians.

[RustBeltBass]

I am on thin ice here, but this to me “sounds” like a Greg Black. I say sound knowing that this is silly as I don’t think you can hear a mouthpiece sound on a trombone, except with Greg Black I sometimes think I can hear it.

This guy has a great facility all over the instrument and not a Thayer valve or open wrap tube in site
just lots of practice and a great old Conn 62H
BellEnd

And of course he's playing all this on a vintage 2G mouthpiece?

[Burgerbob]

I am on thin ice here, but this to me “sounds” like a Greg Black. I say sound knowing that this is silly as I don’t think you can hear a mouthpiece sound on a trombone, except with Greg Black I sometimes think I can hear it.

And of course he's playing all this on a vintage 2G mouthpiece?

Looks like it could be a 2GP.

In any case, sounds amazing! As does the rest of the quartet.

[FOSSIL]

You know I really can't remember what mouthpiece Angus was playing when I gave him some lessons... he was playing very well so it was not an issue. That Elkhart 62H....it's not holding him back, trust me.

Chris

[RustBeltBass]

It IS a GB according to his own writing, or rather, hastagging.

[CalgaryTbone]

I wonder how he would sound on a modern horn.

Great players can sound great on anything. They choose what they want to play.

Couldn't agree more - I thoroughly enjoyed this great performance and what he was playing on didn't figure into my enjoyment - just how well he played! Congratulations to Angus for his great artistry! Great group - they have some other nice YouTube clips.

Jim Scott

[Savio]

That's amazing playing!
Leif.

[DougHulme]

Interesting concept I think I see coming through here about his choice of instrument. Its as though some are surprised that he can make a good sound on an old instrument or they are surprised he doesent have a boutique horn! I would have said an Elkhart 62H was an instrument to aspire to, if you could find one. Many of the bespoke horn makers are trying to copy the Elkhart 62H because it is acknowledged as such an outstanding instrument. That would be why an outstanding player is using an outstanding instrument!... Doug

[WGWTR180]

[RustBeltBass]

Interesting concept I think I see coming through here about his choice of instrument. Its as though some are surprised that he can make a good sound on an old instrument or they are surprised he doesent have a boutique horn! I would have said an Elkhart 62H was an instrument to aspire to, if you could find one. Many of the bespoke horn makers are trying to copy the Elkhart 62H because it is acknowledged as such an outstanding instrument. That would be why an outstanding player is using an outstanding instrument!... Doug

I think players in America are more wrapped up in that conversation. SOOOOO many here default to the larger is better concept convinced that nothing else will work. We're also a copycat society for the most part. I'm one of the rare birds who prefers smaller mouthpieces and rotary instruments. Angus sounds great! If there had only been audio many would've just accepted that he sounds great! I didn't even look at the mouthpiece during the video but did notice he is playing on a Conn 62H. But if he is, as some suggest, playing a 2G, hopefully many who think nice full pedal tones are only possible on a larger mouthpiece will take notice. And yes the entire quartet sounds marvelous! Bravo to all!

Out of curiosity:
1.Who said that he is not a fantastic player ?
2. Does the discussion of his choice of equipment diminish this ensemble’s or the player’s level of accomplishment ? Let me remind you it was the person’s original post mentioning the horn initially.
3. With such an extreme and generalized statement of yours regarding American players, I can not help but wonder what your credentials are. Are you a professional player then ?

[WGWTR180]

[WGWTR180]

1.

[SwissTbone]

Uh... that escalated quickly. As much a gearhead I am. Let's just appreciate the music.

[RustBeltBass]

Thank you for clarifying but please read carefully: I did not ask whether you did or didn’t say he was a fantastic player but if there were any negative comments in this conversation to begin with ? There are none.

I have no way of knowing for sure whether or not you are a professional trombonist,but from a past comment you made in response to what another professional player wrote, I somehow doubt it. Seeing how slowly this forum is developing compared to, say the Trumpet Herald, with continued competition from Facebook groups, I think it would be very detrimental if qualified people’s opinions are ridiculed by amateur players.

Hence my questioning of the post you made, carry on.


Chris, (Fossil) Is Angus your student ?

[WGWTR180]

RustBeltBass just deleted my comments. Message Fossil-maybe he can shed some light on my professional status.

[RustBeltBass]

RustBeltBass just deleted my comments. Message Fossil-maybe he can shed some light on my professional status.

WGWTR180, no need to delete anything as far as I am concerned. I expressed my concerns in previous comments above, so all is good from my side. Wishing you a peaceful and safe holiday season.

[AndrewMeronek]

Damn, I wish I could play half of all that.

[BGuttman]

Guys like Angus aren't limited in any way by their equipment. Definitely a tour de force and I don't care what gear he was playing.

I also appreciate his dealing with that unwieldy costume.

[RustBeltBass]

Not sure if I should have opened a new topic for this but here he is playing some Bach, beautiful playing.

https://youtu.be/2VbgTrOHimw

[FOSSIL]

WGWTR180 is a professional....a high level professional that does work most people would be very jealous of.
Bill and his wife are personal friends of ours, who we try to spend time with every year. I have great respect for him and his opinions.
It jars with many players when a talented young player has his efforts reduced to equipment spotting.
The reason Angus plays so well is Angus. He was taught by the bass trombonist of the RSNO. I gave him some consultative lessons when he was thinking about going to college and was unsure of the new Holton 181 that he had on loan. I fixed him up with a screw bell Holton 180 that I built that was streets ahead of the 181. By the time he auditioned he had added a Kanstul 1662 to his arsenal. That was just over a year ago and I can see how much he has developed in the past year. He is exceptional.
We play old Conn basses here in the UK. That's just the way it is. Seems to work.

Chris

[RustBeltBass]

We play old Conn basses here in the UK. That's just the way it is. Seems to work.

Chris

Chris, is Holton of relevance in professional use in the UK as well these days ? I believe it was Ray Premru’s Main Instrument for many years, prior to his switch to Edwards when he taught in the USA. I do not think I have seen it on recent British trombone sections.

[FOSSIL]

We play old Conn basses here in the UK. That's just the way it is. Seems to work.

Chris

Chris, is Holton of relevance in professional use in the UK as well these days ? I believe it was Ray Premru’s Main Instrument for many years, prior to his switch to Edwards when he taught in the USA. I do not think I have seen it on recent British trombone sections.

I was the last orchestra player to use a Holton regularly...Steve Saunders who was many in the BBC Symphony Orchestra, was a lifelong Holton player, unlike myself, who swapped about a bit.
I remember going into the BBC Symphony and sitting next to Steve's successor, who looked at my trombone and said 'what's that ?' ...when I replied Holton, he said he had never seen one. I knew it's days were numbered....
Back in the 70's and 80's it was probably the most popular bass in the UK, but times change.
Fashion.

Chris

[Posaunus]

Bellend of course started the equipment spotting with his initial post. (Read it!) However, I think his point was that equipment doesn't matter if the player is good – and Angus Butt is certainly more than good.

I'm afraid that I pushed the equipment issue along with what I thought was a cute comment about playing on a 2G mouthpiece; that was only a reference to other threads extolling the virtues (or limitations) of (various versions of) the 2G, that I have found alternately interesting and amusing. I for one could not care one whit about what trombone or what mouthpiece Angus was using, and I apologize for helping to get this thread sidetracked. His playing was marvelous!

I noticed neither his trombone (as a newbie to bass trombones, I wouldn't recognize a Conn 62H anyway) or his mouthpiece (probably NOT a 2G, though). But I was distracted a bit by the (costume) visuals – so the second time I listened, I turned off the video so I could enjoy the group's spectacular playing.

Back off folks. Enjoy the music.

'Tis the season!

[Burgerbob]

I think the costume only added to the performance. I'm not sure I could play like that with one on!