Founded in 1967 by R. Winston Morris, the professor of tuba at Tennessee Tech, the TTTE has been in existence for over 52. They have won numerous awards, and have released the most tuba ensemble recordings of any group to date. The TTTE has also served as an inspiration for the forming of new tuba ensembles worldwide.
I want to share with you today Tuba Juba Duba, by Terry Hutchinson. This piece was written in 1967 and is heavily jazz influenced. This piece starts with a slow, but bouncing groove, then moves into a slower section, before returning to the same style as the beginning. Without being able to find any program note for the piece, or any information on Hutchinson (other than he wrote this piece) I struggled to figure out why I enjoyed it, or if I even understood it. What I personally like about it, and tubists may hate (I would be curious to know), is that it seems to embody the tuba stereotypes. From the title, to the music itself - it just has a sort of dopey and lazy quality. However, I actually think that the slow, chordal middle section makes a case for the tuba as a melodious and beautiful instrument, even if it does return to the first theme again.
Enjoy!
As a tuba player, I'm going to say this... I do enjoy tuba/euphonium quartet, but having to perform in a larger tuba ensemble isn't always fun. Lots of cheesy title names, having to play polka or marches (not my thing), it can be sad time for someone like me. That being said, this piece is a little cheesy to me, but that's only because I'm so picky when it comes to tuba/euphonium music! For all those people out there that enjoy this, enjoy it for me! (:
ReplyDeleteNot a knock on the ensemble performing this piece, they sound great!