Interesting Marzan stuff
Here's the basis for Dr. Fred Marzan's horns. View his patent here:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=0MA4AAAAEBAJ&dq=marzan+tuba
There are several Marzan tubas and euphoniums documented on this page. As far as I've determined, no actual production numbers or serial number lists have ever been published. If you have any additional information about Dr. Marzan's horns, please contact me.
Here's the lastest Marzan tuba to surface. Check back from time-to-time to see new additions:
This beautiful Marzan (Willson) euphonium is owned by Mauro Cadei in Italy. The restoration work, silver plating, and trigger on the main slide was done by G & P ( http://www.gp-wind.com/ ) Mauro is the maintainer of www.TubaForum.it (the Italian web site for tuba and euphonium players).
The owner of this outstanding example is Rabbi Doug Weber of Rutland,
Vermont. It's a slant-rotor CC that he bought new in January of 1973
for a whopping $1,185 plus shipping.
Another new addition is this Willson-built Marzan owned by Anthony Longano. Anthony is a student of Paul Scott in Northern New Jersey.
This Marzan is owned by Dean Snavely and was added to this page on 12/3/2007. This beauty is one of the Willson horns with the 17" bell.
This is a fine example of a slant-rotor Marzan owned by Jeff Hudson at the VCU Center for Performing Arts in Richmond, VA
Here's a Marzan tuba that sold on Ebay on June 24, 2007. It only had one rotor and was missing the whole fingerboard assembly. Maybe the new owner will provide me with some more photos after a little restoration work is done.
Here's an exellent example of a Boehm & Meinl tuba was was the same model as those that bore the Marzan logo. It's owned by Jose Hernandez:
The following pictures of Dr. Fred Marzan's personal horns. The first set of images are Dr. Marzan's solid copper Sander CC. Although this IS NOT a Boehm & Meinl 'Marzan' tuba, it represents an outstanding item from the Marzan estate. The second set of images are his slant-rotor CC. The pictures were provided by Bill Wheeler of Buddy Rogers Music Company with the help of Gregg Saunders:
Well... the bidding's over and the new owner of Dr. Marzan's solid copper 'Sander' tuba is Kit Johnson. Kit plays tuba with the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band. Have a listen to Kit's arrangement of 'Dude Ranch Blues'. You will find a bit of information about Kit, the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band, and a link to 'Dude Ranch Blues' here:
http://www.bscjb.com/about_the_band/kit.shtml
Dr. Marzan's slant-rotor CC
Marzan Horns
If you have information about Marzan tubas, please forward it to me and I'll include it on this page. I need such things as a description, photos, serial number, history of the horn, date of manufacture, previous owners, etc. The first picture below is my Marzan four piston BBb. The serial number is 74265 and I think it was manufactured in the Bohm & Meinl Factory in 1971. The bore is .751" (19MM). The diameter of the bell is 19"... and the overall length is 37". The horn is all yellow brass with the exception of the main tuning slide which is nickel-silver. The main slide is on top the farthest from the bell. Note that ALL of the tuning slides are at the top... a characteristic of many of Dr. Fred Marzan's horns.
My Marzan
Steve Shoop's Marzan
Steve's Marzan is pictured below. It was manufactured by Willson. It has a 17" bell and a smaller bore than the horns that were built by Bohm & Meinl. Beautiful horn, Steve!
Marzan Euphonium
Pictured below is an example of one of Dr. Marzan's euphoniums. It was formerly owned by Al Stark and was sold to unnamed buyer in May 2008.
Below is a picture of one of the pistons out of the above Marzan euphonium. Notice the concave profile of the cork on top of the piston. The profile of the cork matches the underside of the top cap. There is no felt bumper... just the cork. Maybe one of you repairmen can give me some insight into what Marzan had in mind when using just cork and no felt... and some reason why the profile instead of just a flat cap and cork.
Bill Tipkemper's Marzan
David Sokol's Slant-Rotor Marzan
Below are two pictures of David Sokol and his Marzan. The images were taken by Richard Cowels while David was working with bluesman Mark Tolstrup in Sarasota, NY between 2002 and 2005. Outstanding horn, David. Thanks to you guys for sharing the pictures.
Michael Keller's 'Slant Rotor' Marzan
Donn Cissinger's Marzan
Ryan Robert's 'slant rotor' Marzan
Thanks for the great pictures, Ryan! It's very interesting that none of the slant rotor horns have any serial numbers. I guess the factory expected the US dealers to assign their own serial numbers.
Here's a page out of the DEG catalog showing the Marzan tubas:
Below is a view of the Meinl Weston factory where the larger Marzans were made:
From left to right: Oskar Kasponski, Anton Meinl, Mrs. Anton Meinl (Mary), Fred Marzan, William Bell.
Below.... The IU Octet:
Back row L to R: Peter Sexauer, unknown, L. B. Oliver, Fred Marzan, unknown.
Front row L to R: William Bell, Jerry Lackey, Richard Council, James Linn.
Note: The ITEA website notes that "Mr. Bell is holding L. B. Oliver's rotary Martin CC".
(I wasn't aware that Martin made a slant-rotor CC, especially one with a tuning slide in the leadpipe.... but I've confirmed that the horn was indeed built by Martin... apparently before the Marzan tubas went into production. Who knows what kind of horn Mr. Marzan is playing!)
Here are 'the tubaguys' at Cumberland Forest Lake Music Camp:
L to R: Arnold Jacobs, William Bell, Fred Marzan
Send me your Marzan stuff and I'll add it to this page
page edited on July 24, 2008