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Jim Self
He is Principal Tuba/Cimbasso with the Pasadena and Pacific Symphonies, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera and Opera Pacific orchestras. Self holds degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Catholic University and a DMA from the University of Southern California-- where he teaches tuba and chamber music.
His major tuba teachers were William Becker, Harvey Phillips and Tommy Johnson. Jim is a past president of The International Tuba/Euphonium Association, a former member of The U.S. Army Band, Washington, D.C and was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee. His compositions and arrangements include works for solo tuba, brass quintet, band, orchestra and other brass, woodwind and string chamber music. Jim has produced nine solo jazz and classical recordings.
Recently released is a CD entitled InnerPlay with strings and features over 40 of LA’s top jazz and studio musicians. It was one of Jazz Times’ Top 50 CDs of the year and Self was chosen for this year’s Downbeat Critics Poll. All of his recordings and compositions are available from: www.bassethoundmusic.com.
Gear
Jim Self is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
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Jim Self & John Chiodini: Back into the Future
by Doug Collette
The instrumental pairing of tuba master Jim Self and guitarist John Chiodini is an unlikely one to be sure, but the two veteran musicians have nurtured an equally uncommon chemistry. It is a musicianly dynamic so striking, in fact, that the two inspire not just each other, but the various other players to whom they extend invitations to collaborate. On such meetings-of-the-minds as these two Basset Hound Records releases, the music skirts the edges of tradition, but ultimately finds the ...
Continue ReadingThe Jim Self-John Chiodini Duo: Feels So Good
by Jack Bowers
Tuba maestro Jim Self and gregarious guitarist John Chiodini unite for the fifth time on Feels So Good, a studio date whose title neatly encapsulates its upbeat vibe. Even though it seems at first blush that the tuba and guitar should be playing in different leagues, Self and Chiodini somehow make the odd mixture work. Self usually carries the melodic weight while Chiodini offers counterpoint and rhythmic support. The duo performs on eight of the session's thirteen numbers and is ...
Continue ReadingTube or Not Tuba? Tuba!!
by Patrick Burnette
Sometimes Mike's dreams do come true. Take this all-tuba led episode, for instance. He's always loved the big horn in jazz groups, and here we delve into five albums spanning the decades led by tuba players. (Oddly, though, five of the featured leaders were all born within a five year span). Will the boys come up with deep insights? Please listen to ascertain. Playlist Discussion of Ray Draper's album Quintet Featuring John Coltrane (New Jazz) 4:17 Discussion of ...
Continue ReadingThe Jim Self & John Chiodini Quintet: Touch and Go
by Jack Bowers
A quintet whose front line consists of tuba, guitar and trumpet. How does that work? Quite well, actually--at least when that front line includes tuba master Jim Self, guitarist John Chiodini and trumpeter Ron Stout, ably supported by bassist Ken Wild and drummer Kendall Kay, on the Jim Self and John Chiodini Quintet's album, Touch and Go. The music they make can best be described as smooth and tasteful--although “swinging" would not be out of place either, ...
Continue ReadingJim Self: My America 2: Destinations
by Jack Bowers
Tuba maestro Jim Self's My America 2: Destinations is a successor of sorts to the album My America, recorded and released some twenty years before, also on Self's Basset Hound label. While personnel has inevitably changed (only trombonist Bill Booth returns from that earlier album), Self has employed the services of the same arranger, Kim Scharnberg—and thank goodness for that! Although Self and his eleven-member supporting cast acquit themselves well, it is Scharnberg's ingenious charts that make this engine run. ...
Continue ReadingJim Self: Hangin' Out
by Richard J Salvucci
One can be forgiven for not knowing a saxhorn from a saxophone, or, for that matter, whether a particular horn is a member of a certain family. Yes, there are aficionados (not to mention serious players) who can quite accurately describe the histories of the instruments, their lineages, and their peculiarities or idiosyncracies. Yet for many, it is difficult to distinguish a cornet from a trumpet. With a clever choice of mouthpiece, an adept instrumentalist can render them basically indistinguishable ...
Continue ReadingThe Jim Self / John Chiodini Duo: Hangin' Out
by Jack Bowers
Hangin' Out is the third album by the unlikely duo of Jim Self on tuba and John Chiodini on guitar. This time around, they hang out on five of the thirteen numbers with special guests--trombonist Scott Whitfield, tenor saxophonist Tom Peterson, baritone saxophonist David Angel and flugelhorn player Ron Stout, each of whom has a feature number before joining the leaders for a full-fledged jam on the lyrical finale, Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen's enduring standard, “It Could Happen to You," ...
Continue ReadingProlific Composer/Arranger David Angel Teams With Tuba Master Jim Self For Extraordinary 3-Disc Anthology, 'Out On The Coast'
Source:
Mouthpiece Music
David Angel is one of the most respected composer/arrangers on the West Coast; however, he is virtually unknown to the general public. That is why tuba and bass trombone master Jim Self decided it was time to rectify that situation. He brought together The David Angel Jazz Ensemble to record Out On The Coast, a gorgeous three-disc anthology of Angel’s music. Angel, a Los Angeles native, plays saxophones and clarinet. He played and wrote for Latin bands in his youth ...
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Jim Self with Strings "InnerPlay" (Basset Hound Records) featuring Gary Foster, Pete Christlieb and Dan Higgins
Source:
All About Jazz
October 20, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Jim Self with Strings “InnerPlay" What the critics are saying about Jim Self's new CD “InnerPlay" (Basset Hound Records) featuring Gary Foster, Pete Christlieb and Dan Higgins. Awesome sound of Jazz Tuba and Strings! (You will never again think of the tuba as an “oompah" instrument--in Jim Self's hands it is gorgeou sand fluid--as melodic as Gerry Mulligan or Bob Brookmeyer) Brad Dechter's arrangements are special! ...
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World-Renowned Tubist Jim Self, His Amazing Fluba, And Expansive 'My America' CD
Source:
All About Jazz
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