Re: Herb Jenkel and Victory at Sea


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Posted by richard on August 15, 2003 at 15:47:51:

In Reply to: Herb Jenkel and Victory at Sea posted by Stan Howell on August 13, 2003 at 12:43:11:

After all the twisting in the wind that this thread has gone through, I thought I would just contact Herb Wekselblatt, a highly successful free-lancer before he joined the Met, and one who knows who did what when.

Here is his reply -

I just got off the phone with Joe Novotny. He was the Tuba Player who played the TV Series, Victory At Sea. It turns out that I probably was the only Tuba Player on the commercial recording. Joe thinks that the reason I thought he had played the first session of the recording was simply my misunderstanding of what someone had told me.."Joe played the previous recording of Victory At Sea." I, unfortunately took it to mean a previous session but Joe thinks it was a reference to the fact that he had played (and beautifully too) the TV Series. So, here's where it stands. Novotny played the TV Series...and there was only one session of the recording...and I was the Tuba Player.

As for TUBBY THE TUBA, the first performances took place with an orchestra called, The Dean Dixon American Youth Orchestra. Dean Dixon was one of the few Black conductors who was beginning to make a name for himself. Years later he was the main conductor of the Juilliard School Of Music, until he resigned and was replaced by Jean Morel. But getting back to TUBBY, when I joined Dixon's orchestra he told me that a friend of his (George Kleinsinger) was writing a solo piece for tuba. A few weeks later the orchestra was handed their manuscript parts for TUBBY THE TUBA. The tuba solo, although it was essentially the same as it is played today, had to be changed. The solo went all the way up to the (extremely) high A or Bb in treble clef. It was too much for this BBb Tuba Player. The next time I saw the manuscript it was what we now know as the Tubby The Tuba
Solo. At the rehearsals were the composer, George Kleinsinger and Paul Tripp, the narrator. After a few rehearsals we were ready for the first of a series of concerts. Paul Tripp narrated all of the performances and George Kleinsinger attended each and every performance, but not one note was ever changed. We must have played at least five-plus performances before I went into the Navy.

While I was at boot camp my mother sent me a letter with a clipping from the newpaper..."TUBBY THE TUBA SELLING LIKE HOTCAKES." Herb Jenkel had made the recording with Leon Barzin, conducting...and, his name is on the recording.

What more can I say? If this is history I'm glad I'm still here to tell the story.


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