July/August 1993

According to the man himself:

Interviewer: Lets talk about your equipment.

GM: I have two Conn baritones (laughter). One I played for about 20 years or so and it was getting in such bad shape - not the horn, but the lacquer. The man who took care of it through those years was Nick Engleman. Have you ever encountered him? Nick was the best repairman in New York. Zoot Sims took me up there, when I first met Zoot. Nick was reluctant to have it relacquered for fear of damage to the rolled tone holes. Eventually I had this done in silver. Kenny Davern had the other horn. I don't know where he got it, but he took really good care of it. It was in beautiful condition. The numbers on both are close, the gold-plated Conn is #M1859588L and the silver horn is #M226935L.

Interviewer: Have you always played Conns?

GM: Yes, except for a brief fling with Selmer. I discovered I liked the sound of a Conn baritone. I'd always been afraid to try gold plating because I was afraid it would muffle the sound, but it didn't. It makes the baritone project better and with the tone I like which is a soft-edged tone. It seems to be more focused. The silver horn has a beautiful sound, but a darker sound. I still play the silver-plated baritone; I wound up playing it a lot on my recent album. I found myself playing the silver more than the gold.

Interviewer: Do you think these horns are heavier than a Selmer or a Yamaha?

GM: I don't think so. I think the metal used in a Selmer is harder, which I assume means it has more zinc in it. Anyway, a man at Conn told me years ago that they used to be able to get the alloy they wanted from the manufacturers. In other words, if they wanted more brass and less copper, they could experiment with it. The metal they were getting during the 1920s was specially designed for Conn. The famous horn that Prez played on, a 9M or 10M, I've played those horns. They feel altogether different, the metal is so soft. If you press your hand around the bell, you'll leave fingerprints in the metal. The prints eventually fade away, but its a different kind of allow than we're used to. The stuff they make them out of now is very hard. They told me that they changed the allot in the 1930s. Otherwise, the horn still looks the same. My problem with the Selmer has always been the alloy. I never liked the feel or the sound.

Interviewer: I studied a while with Danny Bank and he always played Conns, although he liked my Selmer baritone very much. He told me that he sold his Selmer many years ago to Serge Chaloff.

GM: Danny is a great baritone player and a long time friend. He's always played Conns.

Interviewer: Does your Conn baritone have a low A?

GM: No, it just goes down to low Bb. I've never owned a low A horn, and I never played one that I felt comfortable with. When I was first trying horns, I liked the way the Conn felt in my hands, but not the Selmer.

GM: There's a natural tendency for the the top keys to be sharp, on all the horns I've played. I've always taken the intonation of the horn itself and adjusted those keys. I put corks under them so they don't open too far or go too sharp. Serge loved it the other way around. He loved to shout and scream and yell on those top notes. It was a fun way to play. Whatever intonation came out of those top notes, Serge had a powerful embouchure, so he could do that. To me, it makes the horn sound pushed. His sound was governed by those top notes.