Martin TR4501 Urbie Green trombone question

[vintage88h]

A question to all Martin Urbie Green players out there.

I recently got an Martin TR4501 from Japan. It´s in great condition and plays and sounds amazing.

The engraving on the bell is

MARTIN
Kenosha. WI USA

Curved handbrace, 8`bell

Serial number: 214xxx

It´s an fantastic instrument and i would really like to know more about the history of this Martin trombonemodel.

Could anyone tell me how old my Urbie is? Where i can i look?

Thanks

[CalgaryTbone]

Somebody else will probably have better information of the years these were made, but the one time I got to hear Urbie live, I know he was playing one of those horns. He was playing with a rhythm section at Michael's Pub in NYC, and I and 2 or 3 of my fellow trombone majors went to hear him. He was fantastic, and he must of realized that the table was full of trombone players - applauding wildly, while the rest of the place was pretty sedate. He came over and sat with us on a break and talked about the horn a bit, so I think it was fairly new then (1976-78?). I don't remember too much more - we were completely star-struck!

Jim Scott

[DaveAshley]

The early (mid to late 70’s) Urbies had 7 5/8 in. bells and block letter engraving.

The serial numbers were all Holton numbers, at least as long as they were built at the Holton factory. Your number wouldn’t jive with Holton numbers though.

I’m guessing this is one of the later production horns. (2000-2005-ish?)

I love mine! (1978 build)

[Oslide]

A question to all Martin Urbie Green players out there.
. . . . .
It´s an fantastic instrument and i would really like to know more about the history of this Martin trombonemodel.

There is a dissertation by Eddie Lee Elsey Jr.,
"A Comparison of Two Distinctive Jazz Trombone Artists, David Steinmeyer and Curtis Fuller" (2008).
Dissertations. 1108. - https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1108

It includes the transcription of an interview with Dave Steinmeyer (Appendix B). The latter's description of his career is interspersed with a few anecdotal bits about the development of the Urbie Green model (p 74-85).

[Oslide]

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