Clik here to view.
Clarinets – Three by Three
Three of a kind.In poker three clarinets will always beat two pairs of saxophones and cornets. Clarinetists are a gregarious lot,possibly because in a wind band they comprise the largest flock of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Master Tommy Fish, Boy Cornetist
Despite the glamor and fun of being an entertainer,show business is work. It's a service with patrons,a trade with clients,and an industry with hundreds of theatrical factories, countless stage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting Around in Old Wien
I live in a world of black and white.The dark shadows of tintypes,the rusty hues of cabinet cards,and the chalky tones of old snapshotsdominate the palette of my photograph collection.As much as I love...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Sympathy Orchestra
Good music teachers are patient.They know a student's initial enthusiasm for making a musical noisewill soon waneas the student discoversa bewildering maze of things to learn.So the teacher waits.Then...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Contrary Bass
Do you know what's funny?Big and awkward is funny.Making strange buzzy noisesor a sudden unexpected sour noteis always good for a laugh.Or watching someone get so frantic in frustrationwith a musical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Atlantic City Love Story, part 1
What is the price of fame?We know it takes hard work,requires willpower and perseverance.But what is the personal cost of winning celebrity?Lost time? Divided family? Broken friendships? Failed love?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Atlantic City Love Story, part 2
The newspapers called it love at first sight,an unlikely romance between a young couplewho came from very different cultures.He was a poor Italian musician who spoke little English.She was a wealthy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An Atlantic City Love Story, part 3
Pittsburg Press23 September 1907In September 1907, six years after first arriving in America in 1901, Oreste Vessella, the Italian Bandmaster received a salute from the Pittsburg Press. (Pittsburgh as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Not-So-Shy Cornetist
Sometime the smile tells all.In an instant it says, "Very pleased to meet you."and you know you have a friend for life.Very often it's the proud posture,or the confident carriage,or just the clear eyes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Portraits of Four Bandsmen
Once upon a time, a man in uniformwas not a soldier or policemanbut a bandsman.The fabric colors, the gold braid, the fancy embroiderydazzled the eye before the band even played a note of music.Such a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Up, Up, and Away!
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?We could float among the stars together, you and IFor we can fly, we can flyUp, up and awayMy beautiful,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For the Yearbook
It's a perennial event.Practically every scholastic year since the invention of photographic printing,students around America gather on some well lit porticoto have their class pictures takenfor the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Band Mascot
Hey Bud!How do you like our band's new mascot?His name is Tige because since our Bandmaster's name is Braun, it's just gotta be.He's a great dog and a big favorite with the fellas.Hank won him in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Newspaper Boys' Band
"What's black and white and read all over?""A Newspaper!"It's an old grandfather's riddle, perhaps less familiar to children today,as newspapers, now printed in glossy multi-colors, struggle to stay...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pretty as a Picture
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."And so is grace, charm, and elegance.We can behold all that and morein this photograph of a string quartet of young womenposed with their two guitars and two...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Army Brass
They're made of brass.To achieve consistent accuracythey require regular target practice.Special training on the breechloaded actionis necessary to keep it clean and prevent misfire.They come in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Sanford Mills Band
They look like musicians.Drummers, trombone players,clarinetists, and cornet players.They wear sharp looking band uniformswith music lyre badges pinned to their military caps. In the center is a drum...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Bassic Baby Carrier
The bass helicon makes a brassy big noise,yet blown soft and sweet it can be a great joy.But when stuffed with a childthe sound's much reviled, as the music's too muted and the cries just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Der Musikwagen
We can see it in their smiles.It was a bond of friendshipborn of warbut made through music.The men wear the regulation uniformsof the Imperial German Armywith the curious brimless soft capfor enlisted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Golden Harp
The shimmering sound of the harp accompanied ballads of fabled bards,odes to legendary chieftains,and even the canticles of angels.Of all musical instrumentsthe harp has the most ancient of...
View Article