Jazzman

I have an idea for a horn and will try to keep it short and to the point. LOL
This trumpet would be called, "THE ECLIPSE BEMSHA" and would be a horn dedicated to the Jazz Masters of present and of old.
This trumpet would have a shepard's crook on the bell bow and on the main and third tuning slide. All the slides would be bowed to open the horn's resonance, to promote a warm and rich jazz tone. The idea of the Bemsha would be that of a Jazz trumpet that represents tone, colour and nuance. It would also be a tribute to the great Jazz Musicians such as Thelonious Monk, who celebrated diversity and creativity in Jazz. Also, the bell would have a 5.5" bell throat, to give it a "flugel like" presence. I have seen many horns with heavy caps and such, so my idea is to have the valve block encased together to appear as if it is one large valve. The valves would be inside this large block and it would comfortable on the hand as well. This design would promote the horns center and give the tone warmth and depth as well. The BEMSHA would have a bore size of .464. I believe that if you have a horn with a large bell throat, that the bore size should not be too big, as you need to keep the air moving!
THE *BEMSHA* BELL:
The bell would have a "fin" on the bottom of the bell, from the rim of the bell, half way to the bell bow. This would not only help in making the tone warmer on the horn, but it would make the horn look STUNNING! This fin would be shaped in an S like curve and cut into this fin would be the words,"Eclipse Bemsha". I believe that this fin would assist the player with a warm tone and further stablize the tone's resonance and warmth. The bell would have a 5.5" bell throat and a large diameter on the bell flare. This would help improve the tone and promote a broad Jazz presence.
THE VALVES:
The valves would be encased in a solid "block" of brass that would be bead blasted into a seperate finish than the horn itself. The valves would each be inside this block, each in their own cylinder of course, but the block would encase them all. This block would be rounded and smoothed to fit well in the players hand. It would not be too thick (just enough to encase the valves), but would stabalize the center of the Bemsha.The finish would be the same primary finish of the horn, only the block would be a satin finish. In the valve block would be engraved beautifully, " BEMSHA".
THE BEMSHA CAPS:The valve caps would be a heavy valve cap, somewhat like the Taylor caps. The valve stems would be quite short, promoting a quick valve action on the horn as well. Each valve cap would have one word engraved on each. The words read on each valve would be, "SING SING SING"
THE SLIDES:
The tuning slide, first slide, third slide and and the bell bow would all have the shepard's crook. All three would be shaped in this manner to open the resonance of the horn and to promote a warm presence about the horn. This would also be an amazing look on a horn with an oversized bell, as The Eclipse Bemsha would have. The Bell bow crook would be a slightly large crook than the other three slides, as the other three slides would enhance this look. I am sure that having the slides crooked like this would promote a huge, warm tone on the Bemsha!!
As it is with the Eclipse trumpets, the tuning slide would be on the bell bow, to enhance the vibration in the horn.
THE LEADPIPE:
The leadpipe would have a .464 bore and would have a heavy receiver as well. The heavy receiver would be made with a mouthpiece that would give the Bemsha a strong core to the sound. The mouthpiece description follows.
THE BEMSHA FINISH:
This horn would be done in a dark gold Satin lacquer. The valve block would be a lighter colour of lacquer, in order to give the horn some contrast. The contrast would be slight and subtle. The concept is to remind the player (hopefully me!!) about the subtlety of jazz and to play with concept and depth. Jazz is about colour and nuance and this horn would be a strong representation of that concept within this great music.
THE MOUTHPIECE:
Would be a copy of a Bach 3C, but made like a heavy mass Taylor, cut to fit this horn. It would match the finish of the BEMSHA and stamped into the side of the piece would be, "BEMSHA SWING-3"
Thank you for the opportunity to dream and if I had a dream horn, this would be the one!! Thanks to this site and to the people at Eclipse. If I won this horn, I would then after one month of receiving this horn, have a Jazz CD made with my group consisting of tenor sax, piano, bass, drums, guitar and The BEMSHA Trumpet. This CD will include original compositions and arrangements and the final track would be Monk's "Bemsha Swing." The cover of the CD would have a photo of of the Bemsha from the side, with myself playing it. This CD soles purpose would be for the music and to promote the Bemsha and Eclipse trumpets. The CD would be made and I would send 200 (or more) copies to Eclipse trumpets, intended to be used to promote the horn. The CD will have 2 ballads to allow for the Bemsha to truly be heard in a Jazz ballad setting. It would also have a few post modern bop tunes and the above mentioned "Bemsha Swing". I would release this CD as a gift to Eclipse for their vision and for giving us this opportunity.
Again, thanks very much and I hope to be the proud owner of the finest "Jazz horn" ever made- ****THE ECLIPSE BEMSHA****The story of the Blues:
10 years ago, I spent 2 years on the road with The B.B.Coleman Blues band. It was not only the finest experience for me musically, but travel wise as well. Here is my story:
The rain was pounding the streets as I walked with my gig bag and my *trumpet that I have owned since grade school. My suitcase was filled with all of the clothing that I owned and man, I was looking for a gig! I had not been home for quite sometime and things sure looked different. I had been at University and many of my friends had gone in all directions. I had nowhere really to stay and I decided to check into a Hotel until I found a pad. I decided to go to a Blues club and take in some Blues. As I approached the club, I could see the lineup outside and got excited right away. The Band inside was playing the heaviest Texas Blues Shuffle that I have ever heard. For a brief moment, I thought that I recognized the tone and feel of the Bass that was pumping and shufflin' through my bones. As I stood soakin wet in the line-up to get in, I was sure now that I had heard that Bass before. It sounded like a good friend of mine that I had called "Papa Joe", who I had not seen in 6 years. As the line stood, not moving in the rain, I was now convinced it was Papa-Joe. As the gig bag and my suitase started to feel as heavy as my sins, the music stopped. At this point, the line had not moved an inch and I was losing hope. Just as I turned to walk away, I heard "Hey you!!!" As I turned, a huge smile was greeting me with open arms. It was Papa Joe and he was just as I had remembered him years ago.......very musical and crazy as a loon. He then said with great enthusiasm, "Man, I am having the time of my life with B.B. and we are moving on tomorrow!!" He then continued, "You want to sit in?" I could not believe what I was being asked, as the timing could not be better.
As we pushed through the delighted crowd, we made it to the backstage area where B.B.Coleman was sitting in his wheel-chair, in all of his majesty. The man was eminating cool like I had never seen before. He was glowing and radiating with music and happiness for being a part of making the world a better place through his life struggles. He studied me with a deep glare as I approached and I felt as if he was looking right into my soul...in fact, he was. Papa Joe said with care, "B.B., we need a trumpet player and this man here can sure play the Trumpet! I used to have a gig with him and he really swung..." B.B. looked at me and began to speak.
"You wanna play the blues my friend?" "You are going to have to forget about all that schoolin' and use the ears that God blessed you with."
He then followed, "If you are ready to do that, then please join us!"
I smiled nervously and replied, " I would love to be a part of what I just heard!! I am ready to play some music, as I have my horn and ready to play the blues!!"
Who was I kidding??.....
The lights were low in the back stage area where I climbed into my two piece vintage suit, that was in my suitcase that I carried. I walked out on the stage and standing there was the largest sax player I had ever seen. His name was Kenny and he had in his hands a vintage Selmer mrk VI tenor sax, that was dangling from his neck like the finest piece of jewellrey that I had ever seen. I strolled up to him and could see the experience on his face. He looked at me with skepticism and said, "You come to play the Blues?" The he said, "Just follow what I play and we will get along just fine." He then added with a deep tone, "When you get called for a solo, just take 2 choruses my friend." I was so nervous and thought to myself, "Ok, here we go........"
The Band started to play the deepest slow blues that I have ever felt on a bandstand. B.B. sat in front in his wheel-chair armed with his beautiful Red Gibson, Sun glasses and silk suit. He then began to sing the words," I went down to Ol' St.James Infirmary........saw My baby Lyin' there....."
Shivers ran down my spine, as the smoke in the club drifted up thru the blue and orange lights. I followed Kenny's lead on the lines in the turnarounds and such and before I knew it, B.B. was pointing at me and singing into the microphone, "Heyyyy trumpet man, give us some Bluueess!!" I closed my eyes and started on the flat seventh of the chord and descended with a growl. The band started to cook and I could tell that the rythm section was pushing the limits to see what I could do. I stayed with them, as I could not help but to. The music was so deep and I just let myself get into it. I finished my 2 choruses and I could feel that I was accepted.....
We played the rest of the set and by the end of the set, the horn section was cooking. I mean, we just connected and by the end of the night, I felt like Kenny and I were reading each other idea's. As we were packing up our horns, I could feel that same feeling I had on the street creepin' up on me. Where would I go and where would I stay? Would I ever in my life have another musical experince such as this? I felt the sadness overcome me as I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned around and there was Kenny with another man. Kenny told me that this was "T", Kenny's road manager and that he wanted a word with me. He then said, "Man B.B. loved your playin' my man. Our trumpet player left a few weeks back and B.B. wants you in the band." I was shocked and was speechless. He then laughed and said, " He wants to see you in his trailer right now!"
I walked off the stage and following "T" and we walked thru an obscure hallway to the parking lot in the back, behind the club.
As we enetered the parking lot, I could see a large trailer attached to a Ford F 150, that was just about the most beautiful truck that I have ever seen. It was black and gold and the side windows and back window were smoked black glass. The plate read "B.B.". As we approached the large silver stream trailer, I started to get really nervous. I mean, here I am walking into the trailer of the finest bluesman that I have ever heard (let alone share a stage with) and he is about to ask me to go on the road with him. I knew that where he came from the term ,"on the road" is a deep and soulful meaning and not to be taken lightly. We reached the door and "T" surprised me with, "Hey B!! Open the door man!" I mean he yelled it outloud!!! All of the people in the parking lot looked over as if a domestic was going down. Then, the door opened and there sat B.B. looking up at me over a plate of hot steaming corn bread and beans. The TV was on and he had the VCR playing some re-runs of some soap opera that I had never seen before. I immediately saw the humour in this and said, "I really enjoyed playing with you Mr.Coleman, but I have a question." He looked at me and smiled as I said, "I cannot believe that a Blues musician watches Soaps!!"
We both laughed with all of our soul for about 10 minutes. He told me that he never thought about it before and he also "dug" my humour. He then changed my life with, "I like the way you play and it looks like you know how to hang.....wanna go to Texas?"
The very next morning I was on the road in the horn section for the BB Coleman Blues Band and lived and played with them for 2 BLUE-tiful years.......