Tuba in big band

[Bassboner]

I play bass bone in my big band, but I have some tuba parts and some straight up bass parts. Our actual bass player isn't really doing the rhythm section any favors, and people seem to appreciate it when I help establish the beat. I can play everything on bass bone, in some cases the bark is what's needed, but sometimes a little presence might be better. We play some old swing classics and some newer rocker (dare I say disco?). How would the TFFJ handle tuba in this setting? (this would be a great setting for me to apply learners chops).

[Grumpikins]

I don't have any real applicable input here, but.... is your group parting ways with the bass player? Are you looking to replace him with your tuba and bass bone?. Or possibly just doubling up on the bass part with the bass player?

From my perspective, if your going to try doubling up with the bass player there's going to be conflict. Both musically and personally/ego. If your group is thinking of parting ways with the bass player because his playing is an issue then give it a try and see how it works. Also, possibly pick up a cheap bass guitar and start learning that. More tools in the toolbox. Good luck.

[Bassboner]

The bass player is kind of a fixture, and has been for a while. I think a lot of people would like a different bass player, but we just can't do it for some reason. He has no concept of where the beat is, and it's not clear to me that he can really read music. I'd say there's already a bit of tension in the band in part because of him.

The bass bone book on some tunes has always had bass parts in it. This is maybe because there are only 3 bone parts, not sure. It might be because the bass line just needs some help for those tunes.

I've got an acoustic plug-in bass I can practice on. I don't have any ambition to replace the bass player on bass. If we had a bass player with some rhythm, I could stick to the bass bone/tuba parts.

Does anyone else play tuba in a big band?

[bloke]

When I've covered the 4th trombone book in big bands (and occasionally told "bring your tuba for one particular tune") I brought the tuba, played the tuba on that one tune (different "one particular tunes" one various such gigs), and always found it (to my taste/ears) to be out of place (even on "that one particular tune"). It clashes with the bass.

OK..."bloke, you're wrong".

...and that's ok by me.

yeah...I did get the "cool...That guy's playing a tuba", but only based on the visual, and not the aural.

[catgrowlB]

The bass player is kind of a fixture, and has been for a while. I think a lot of people would like a different bass player, but we just can't do it for some reason. He has no concept of where the beat is, and it's not clear to me that he can really read music. I'd say there's already a bit of tension in the band in part because of him.

That's a bummer that your bass player isn't that good.
In a big band, the whole rhythm section (bass, drums/set, keyboard, guitar) really need to be solid.
You shouldn't have to do double duty because your bass player is lacking. Bass bone is pretty involved and important in big band. I'd say tuba should only be used on very specific pieces that call for it (like ballads) in big band. Like euphonium in orchestra -- very few, specific pieces.

I played bass bone in a college big band, and it was fun and quite involved. Would love to do it again; still have my bass bone. Luckily, we always had good bass and set players. The director may have made a few pointers to them, but he did that to all of us. He let us know if it was working or not.

Is your drum/set player solid, and does the bass player try to gel with what they are doing? Maybe the keyboard player can play some root/bass notes to help out if they are also solid? Or maybe your bass player just needs to shape up a bit or find a new one. It's not fair to the rest of you if the bass player sucks and is messing up the groove on your tunes

[Bassboner]

Is your drum/set player solid, and does the bass player try to gel with what they are doing? Maybe the keyboard player can play some root/bass notes to help out if they are also solid? Or maybe your bass player just needs to shape up a bit or find a new one. It's not fair to the rest of you if the bass player sucks and is messing up the groove on your tunes

The drums are about 80%, the keyboards about 60% (mostly organizational, she's a decent player, but can't manage the book) and the bass about 40% (can't keep time or read notes). The rest of the band deserves better. I'm a bit of a new comer, so I can't be too bold. We had a guest conductor who was astounded at the general lack of rhythm section. It's a political hot potato, the bass and keys players are older folks, and you hate to send them out in an ugly way.

There are some tunes where I can see the tuba being an asset, and some tunes where the bass bone is definitely the thing. I might selfishly use the tuba as an opportunity to get some "playing in public" chops, as I'm a newish tuba player .