But it wasn’t the Committee that seduced generations of jazz listeners and performers with its creamy, mocha java, almost flugel-like timbre.

When they reintroduced the Committee, it was a different design and a decent horn by all accounts. Leblanc bought the Martin name in 1971, moved the operation to Kenosha, Wis., and stopped producing the Committee model for a while, though it continued to make custom versions for Miles Davis. When RMC dissolved a couple years later, Wurlitzer picked up the rights to the Martin brand. In 1961 Martin became part of Roundtable of Musical Craftsmen (RMC), the company formed by Paul Richards that combined Martin with Reynolds and Blessing. Miles played them forever, and Dizzy continued to do so for more than a decade before switching to the King Silver Flair, like the Gillespie horn that's in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Martin Committee T3460 from Kenosha, WI By about 1956, a lot of players felt that the quality of Martin horns had declined.Ĭhet Baker, for example, famously switched to a Conn Connstellation around that time. The one name that shows up on both lists is Schilke, and he was widely quoted as saying in later years that the Martin Committee was really designed by a committee of one - namely, himself. 1, 1940 issue of DownBeat magazine, featured a completely different “committee” that included, among others, top trumpeters Bunny Berigan, Rafael Mendez and Charlie Teagarden, though nowhere in the ad does it say those guys actually designed the horn. Reynolds Company, help a competitor design a superior trumpet? And the first advertisement for the Martin Committee, which ran in the Dec.

But questions about who served on the committee remain unanswered. Most sources say the roster included well-known horn makers Renold Schilke, Vincent Bach, Elden Benge and Foster Reynolds, along with an unnamed local musician from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Serial number 2131XX.Įxactly who served on that committee remains a matter of some debate. Here for your buying enjoyment is a used Martin Committee trombone.This trombone is the precursor to the Urbie Green model, made in 1961. Serial Number, Year Manufactured, -, Serial Number, Year Manufactured. In the late 1930s, the company started working on a new trumpet design based on input from a “committee” of leading instrument designers and trumpet players. Martin Committee from Elkhart, ND By the 1930s, Martin already had a reputation for producing first-rate instruments, and its top-of-the-line model, the Martin Handcraft Imperial, had become the choice of many of the best players of the time. Chet Baker, Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, Maynard Ferguson, Al Hirt, Richard Allen 'Blue' Mitchell, Robert Roland Chudnick (Red Rodney), Clark Terry all those cats wielded a Committee for all or part of their career. Chris Botti has compared his acquisition of an early one to finding a rare Jaguar or Porsche in a 2010 interview with Smooth Jazz Vibes. Miles Davis gave birth to The Cool on one.

Dizzy Gillespie’s first upward-bent bell was on a Committee. Mouthpiece: 2 3/8 in x 1 1/16 in 6.0325 cm x 2.69875 cm ID Numberġ of jazz trumpeters consider the Martin Committee a vital addition to any serious horn collection. United States: Massachusetts, Worcester Physical Description Conn for “Improvements in Cornets, and other Piston-Valve Musical Instruments.” Location JUNE 15, 1886,” which refers to United States Patent #343888 granted to Charles G. The second valve on the cornet is stamped “PAT. The cornet is accessioned with a period wooden case covered with black leather and lined with purple plush, and accessories. The bell of the cornet is ornately engraved with a floral design. It is a B-flat/A cornet, serial #51787, made of silver plated brass with gold highlights, and has 3 Périnet piston valves with mother-of-pearl buttons and sculpted guides on the quick change slide. Conn in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1898.

Conn trombone serial number lookup