Bach for jazz

[BflatBass]

How many of you peeps out there like using a Bach trombone for jazz work? I'm talking either tenor or bass. I'm also talking small group work where it's just you and maybe one or two other horns and rhythm section or big band stuff.
The reason I'm asking is that when I bought my first and only horn back in '79, the Bach trombone (especially the Stradivarius) was pretty much the horn of choice for classical work. Anyone using a Bach for jazz was doing it because they needed work and their only horn was a Bach. Back then if you bought a trombone meant to do well in a jazz environment you didn't buy a Bach. Still true? Times change I know and there are a lot of Bach trombones available right now. Are there any designed with jazz in mind?

[Neo Bri]

Bill Watrous has pretty much always used a Bach 16, if I'm not mistaken.

I use Bach tenors and a bass for jazz, as well as other horns. Good stuff.

[Basbasun]

"Back then if you bought a trombone meant to do well in a jazz environment you didn't buy a Bach. Still true? "
Nope. And it never was. Lots of jazz players play and played Bach.

[Neo Bri]

I have noticed a regional thing, though. For example, lots of places used to be King territory. Conn, too.

Another good example is Texas - historically Bach territory.

I felt like Washington, DC was kinda all mixed up, but my first pro-level horn was a Bach 16 - which I bought for jazz.

Matt Niess played a Bach 6 for lead in the Army Blues for roughly one million years, and Joe Jackson played a straight 36 in the Airmen of Note for a long time, too.

I played a Bach 50 bass on many a touring jazz show, as well as my Bach 36.

[dukesboneman]

I`ve played Bach`s for years. I love the sound and the feel.
The players I listened to the most played Bachs - Watrous (16M) Fontana (12) Conrad Herwig (16M)
That sound got in my head. I use Bach`s for pretty much everything.
I have a 12, Lt12G, Lt16MG, 36 & 42BO

[Driswood]

I`ve played Bach`s for years. I love the sound and the feel.
The players I listened to the most played Bachs - Watrous (16M) Fontana (12) Conrad Herwig (16M)
That sound got in my head. I use Bach`s for pretty much everything.
I have a 12, Lt12G, Lt16MG, 36 & 42BO

And a 34B on loan!!!

Jerry Walker

[Redthunder]

I`ve played Bach`s for years. I love the sound and the feel.
The players I listened to the most played Bachs - Watrous (16M) Fontana (12) Conrad Herwig (16M)
That sound got in my head. I use Bach`s for pretty much everything.
I have a 12, Lt12G, Lt16MG, 36 & 42BO

Do you know what years/recordings Carl Fontana used a Bach on? I know he switched around at various points, and . I always enjoyed comparing his sound from his early career when he played on a 6H to later points, when he must have been on the Bach.

[Matt K]

Bachs were evidently popular on the west coast, or so I've been told by some players I've known who were active in the late 70s through the early 90s in California. Several of them starting on 16s in no short part because of Watrous and trying to find a Mt. Vernon (in some cases successfully!).

[Neo Bri]

I can also tell you that Carl had some Williams horns, too.

[JohnL]

There's been a contingent of people using Bach small bores for jazz going back to at least the swing era. Glenn Miller was a Bach guy, and I've seen ads claiming the Jimmy Dorsey band trombone section was all Bach.

Not as popular as Kings or Conns, of course - but not particularly rare, either.

[AlexMcMahon]

I use a Bach 6 NY bell with a Corporation 16 slide anytime I play a jazz gig. I can start articulations at a much lower dynamic without working as hard as on a 6H (for me). I've had 2Bs and 6Hs and 10Hs and always get rid of them because I have to work harder on them.

I do have a Bach 8 slide that is a little too narrow and constricting, so it may be a size issue more than brand. If I could play a 3B+, I might have a different opinion.

[BassBoneWadie99]

I had seen some different variants of Bach 50 basses in jazz bands before, most notably with CMU (Central Michigan) Jazz Lab I. During my sophomore and junior year up at CMU Jazz Weekend, the bass bone player was using a silver plated Bach 50B30 and sounded great from which I can remember. I do remember seeing a 50T3 in a jazz setting as well and also sounded pretty good in all ranges.

Also for tenors, I can recall seeing some Bach 42's and even Bach 36's, with one using a 42BO for lead. However, most of which I've seen were covering 2nd and 3rd parts.

I personally think that any respectable brand will do fine in jazz as long as it's playing accordingly to the setting and the player him/herself. That's my overall view on the matter and hope it helps somewhat.

[Davidus1]

Bill Watrous has pretty much always used a Bach 16, if I'm not mistaken.

I use Bach tenors and a bass for jazz, as well as other horns. Good stuff.

Watrous plays Bach. That answers the question in my opinion! They are fine horns and would work well in any style dependent upon the player.

[Bach5G]

McChesney sounds ok on his Bach 8.