Trombone and didgeridoo

[rickfaulknernyc]

As someone who doubles didgeridoo, I'm always interested in other trombonists who play it. Most prominently, I come up with:

Stuart Dempster
Craig Harris
Art Baron

Scott Reeves also plays it on a track on his first CD. (Once I played a big band gig with both Art and Scott - would've been interesting if we'd all bought our didges!)

Any others come to mind?

[EriKon]

I think I've heard of Adrian Mears playing Didgeridoo, but never heard it myself so far

[mbarbier]

Stuart Dempster plays it a lot- he's largely credited with it being widely introduced to the states (which is a complicated statement). Dempster studied it in Australia as a Fulbright Scholar at one point. I don't play it as much I used to, but we had a didj class/ensemble when I was doing my MFA. I have a few and used to play out a lot with it.

[WilliamLang]

Jen Baker plays didgeridoo and trombone also

[harrisonreed]

Christian Lindberg does a cool "didgeridoo" solo in Sandstroms concerto.

[johntarr]

As someone who doubles didgeridoo, I'm always interested in other trombonists who play it. Most prominently, I come up with:

Stuart Dempster
Craig Harris
Art Baron

Scott Reeves also plays it on a track on his first CD. (Once I played a big band gig with both Art and Scott - would've been interesting if we'd all bought our didges!)

Any others come to mind?

How are you using the didgeridoo? Do you combine/integrate it with your trombone performance, play it separately or both? I’m asking because I’ve studied didgeridoo with a teacher and am fascinated with the sound but haven’t yet found a way to perform with it.

Thanks, John

[CheeseTray]

Wycliffe Gordon plays didgeridoo on his album, "The Search."

[dukesboneman]

Steve Turre plays it on the McCoy Tyner Big Band CD - Uptown/Downtown
Craig Harris is very good with the Didge

[mbarbier]

Barry Webb is a British trombonist who worked at the University of Huddersfield for quite a while (and an active contemporary music player). He premiered Michael Finnissy's works for didgeridoo. quabara with percussion and Red Earth for two and orchestra.

https://youtu.be/C7XHDQjUg5U

I'm not sure who it was written for (possibilly the German Saxophonist Ulrich Krieger, who studied it in Australia and ran the didgeridoo ensemble at CalArts) also wrote a good piece for didgeridoo. It's a bit off topic but came to mind because he's got a ton of work for trombone.

https://youtu.be/V2B0b3JWWKo

[rickfaulknernyc]

How are you using the didgeridoo? Do you combine/integrate it with your trombone performance, play it separately or both? I’m asking because I’ve studied didgeridoo with a teacher and am fascinated with the sound but haven’t yet found a way to perform with it.

Thanks, John

I haven't performed with it a lot. I first played (a bit) back in college, playing a new Donald Erb orchestral piece that included several trombonists placed around the back of the hall; we were given lengths of PVC pipe to play, didge-style, for one movement.

I came back to the didge several years ago when playing in a kids-music group with my wife and her brother. He had a song about a kangaroo which just called out for didgeridoo. I also played it in a concert with an Italian folkloric group that liked to incorporate other world music traditions into their shows.
Outside of that, I haven't had many opportunities to perform with it, but I'm always looking. I did use it on one track on an little EP project I did during COVID (below) - probably the only reggae-ska track featuring both didgeridoo and a string section! And I put it on a track on an upcoming CD by my Brazilian choro group. You kind of need to find/create your own opportunities to play.

[CharlieB]

[johntarr]

Outside of that, I haven't had many opportunities to perform with it, but I'm always looking. I did use it on one track on an little EP project I did during COVID (below) - probably the only reggae-ska track featuring both didgeridoo and a string section! And I put it on a track on an upcoming CD by my Brazilian choro group. You kind of need to find/create your own opportunities to play.

Nice playing! The didgeridoo with the flute solo was quite dramatic and interesting.

Thanks for sharing that.

[rickfaulknernyc]

Nice playing! The didgeridoo with the flute solo was quite dramatic and interesting.

Thanks for sharing that.

Thanks! Flute and didge is a great combination. My wife (who is the flutist on that recording) also plays Native American flutes; sometimes we improvise together just for fun.

[rickfaulknernyc]

Steve Turre plays it on the McCoy Tyner Big Band CD - Uptown/Downtown
Craig Harris is very good with the Didge

Didn't know Steve played it! I like how Craig uses it, and how he's adapted elements of didgeridoo technique into his trombone playing.

[Holmbone]

Check out Sven Larssons Didgeribone on Spotify.

[Windmill]

Adrian Mears is definitely worth checking out. He's a monster on both instruments and uses the Didj in various combos... Big band, orchestra stuff, trio....

[MBurner]

Steve Parker wrote a piece for 9 trombones and didgeridoo (improvised on PVC pipe) that we played back in 2014 at Crystal Bridges in Arkansas. Can’t say I’ve played it past that, but my first undergrad professor Gerald Sloan was a huge fan of using didgeridoo to work on air flow and pitch.