trumpetnick

Ingrid,

Are cornets still used in combo jazz bands? When I was still at college and was putting a 5tet together, the sax player was kind of surprised that I wanted to use a cornet for one fo the piece. His argumnet against was that cornet was for brass bands an trumpets and flugels for jazz. What do you think?

gridjam

Cornets are cool! I want one and am going to get one as soon as I get a minute. Don't listen to a saxplayer,what do they know!? (just kidding) I think if you are hearing a texture that fits you should use it. Warren Vache' and Dave Douglas make the cornet fit just fine! I'm sure you do too. Have fun and follow what your ears tell you- who knows what you may find as far as atmosphere and mood goes?!

trumpetnick

Hey guys,

Don't be shy and share your cornet jazz experience.

Tootsall

Nick, email user Tom Turner directly; he's heavily into the "cornet scene" but may not be checking TM daily as he once did.

tom turner

Hi Nick,

I play my cornet, along with my trumpet and fluglehorn, on virtually every jazz gig that I play.

As Ingrid mentioned, it has a different "texture" vs. the other two horns. I refer to it a little differently but it means the same thing. I feel it adds more "colors" to our tonal palette, as we "paint" the sound we are after on a certain piece of music.

Frankly, I probably use my cornet about 50% of the time in a straight jazz combo that I'm in, and probably 40%-10% trumpet and fluglehorn.

What I've noticed in my area is that people are used to hearing trumpet players, but when I play the sweet cornet, folks many times stop talking and start listening! The sound is different . . . sweet, gentle, almost human-like.

With the proper set up (including mouthpiece) the sound is not a powerful, burnished flugle sound nor a searing bright trumpet either. It truly gives you three distinct sounds to choose from . . . and this allows you to control the mood and feeling of a piece of music to a greater extent.

Some nights I'll be in a different mood, or the band will have a different groove, and I'll choose my "weapon" based on how I want the feeling to be when the sound reaches the crowd.

ALL THREE INSTRUMENTS MUST BE APPROACHED DIFFERENTLY!

Too many trumpeters sound like trumpeters playing a fluglehorn, for they've not been able to get their trumpet "sound" out of their head and out of their fluglehorn's sound.

If this is true (and it is), the problem is compounded, especially in the US, where folks sound almost like a trumept on their cornet. In England of course, this is not a problem generally, for they've got so many players who understand the way a cornet is to sound.

WHAT KIND OF CORNET?

In America we see lots of vintage "long" cornets, a type popularized in America starting just before WWI and coming forward. IMHO, these are mainly trumpet bells mounted on a more compact "wrap" and with a cornet receiver for the mouthpiece. They nearly project as well as a trumpet and are nearly as bright too. Although I have several of these, this type is not what I use generally.

I much prefer the real cornet sound of the shepherd's crook cornet. Many folks in England feel these are the only true cornets, and I surely wouldn't dispute this with them. These horns are more gentle and rich sounding as a general rule.

MOUTHPIECES?

Go for as deep a V-shaped cornet mouthpiece as you can! Sure, you can get a "modern" cornet mouthpiece that's basically a trumpet cup on a cornet shank, but these sound bright and projecting . . . just like on a trumpet. IMHO, the deep V cornet mouthpieces give the original, sweet cornet sound.

My commercial mouthpiece is a Warburton BC cup, in my favorite number. BC stands for "British Cornet."

AMPLIFICATION . . .

When I play jazz, it is generally with combos that include some powerful, amplified string instruments and piano. So, I use an AKG-419 clip-on instrument mic on my bell that runs to my personal wireless mic system. This is built into a case next to me on stage.

I actually mix my own sound first, including a slight "sweetening" of digital effects on my mixer. Then, one output from the mixer goes to the house mix via a balanced mic cable. In effect, the house mix receives my mic signal as if it went straight to the house mixer.

Also coming out of my mixer is my "monitor" mix, WHICH I CAN CONTROL TOTALLY, that goes to my floor amplifier that powers twin mini monitors mounted on mic stands on each side of my head, but about 3' away.

This allows me to create a nice "coccoon" of sound around my head, complete with a little bit of effects, and this makes it so enjoyable to be able to hear myself clearly! The result? I can play my cornet softly and gently, without having to blast it out in some clubs just to hear myself on stage.

Frankly, my "personal system" may be one of the best things I've ever done for myself on stage. I can hear clearly but the small speakers don't force the other guys to turn up. Also, I can play with the same control as in the studio, rather than blasting, and thus . . . I have a much greater tone "palette" to use on all three horns.


Hope this helps!

T.

PS: Here's a shot of my cornet and Warburton mouthpiece. I was on the road one night and actually shot this on the white sheets of my hotel room bed, and later digitally edited out the ripples in the sheets to make a pure white background! I think it looks neat!

trumpetnick

Ed, Thanks a lot for you suggestion.

Tom,

Your comments were very informative and sort of a news to me. I think that it is very interesting...And I am very curious aobut. It is too bad that Bulgaria is so far from where you are normally playing. Would be possible for you to post couple of tunes on the cornet, so I can get more precise idea? Is not necessarily that this has to be studio recording. You can also record a part any gig so we can admire it a bit...

Brekelefuw

Check out the Cannonball Adderly Quintet or any Nat Adderly recordings. Nat played cornet for his entire career. I think he is the definitive jazz cornetist (at least in a modern style)

Brekelefuw

Check out the Cannonball Adderly Quintet or any Nat Adderly recordings. Nat played cornet for his entire career. I think he is the definitive jazz cornetist (at least in a modern style)

A.N.A. Mendez

Check out something (anything) by BIX, the definitive cornet "sound" IMHO

A.N.A. Mendez

Speaking of Good 'ol cornets....original condition 1929-30 Olds
The case has what looks like a bullet hole in it!