Genuine Plastic by Ralph Hepola

We’ve all heard of genuine leather and genuine diamonds, but what about genuine plastic? Genuine Plastic is a curvy melody that bends every which way; plus high-speed tuba & keyboard solos.

How High the Moon by Morgan Lewis & Nancy Hamilton

Tubaist Ralph Hepola plays the jazz standard How High the Moon.

Cherokee by Ray Noble

Here’s the high-speed Bebop standard Cherokee played on tuba. In true Bebop fashion, the tuba quotes other songs including the verse from The Saint Louis Blues, Reuben and Rachel (two different quotes) and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Mr. P.C. by John Coltrane

John Coltrane’s uptempo minor blues Mr. P.C., which is a tribute to bass player Paul Chambers, played on tuba.

Original Thought by Ralph Hepola & Kyle Aho

In the arts world, everyone is trying to do new things: new compositions, new arrangements, new renditions. Many listeners have pointed out that I’m doing something new by playing the language of contemporary on the tuba. Avant garde, traditional jazz and street bands have included the tuba, but rarely contemporary jazz, especially when played by the leader. The awesome keyboardist Kyle Aho and I composed Original Thought together. It’s a tribute to the creative process itself. The venue in the video is the historic 1909 Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri.

Impressions by John Coltrane

Starting in 1961, John Coltrane recorded his Impressions at least fifteen times. Many musicians have since recorded Impressions in various styles and at various tempi. I’m not aware of any other tuba recordings of the piece. The venue in the video is the historic 1909 Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri.

Perdido by Juan Tizol

Juan Tizol (1900-1984) was a Puerto Rican valve trombonist who played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 1941, he wrote Perdido while on a train, then handed it to Ellington who made an arrangement right then and there, and that very night they played it at a dance. Both the valve trombone and tuba are valved low brass instruments making this piece an obvious choice for a tuba player. The venue in the video is the historic 1909 Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri.

Rocket Science by Ralph Hepola

In the 1970s, musicians started writing and performing a style of music called fusion, which is the fusion of jazz with other styles of music. Many titles of fusion pieces refer to outer space. Keyboardist Chick Corea alone wrote Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Space Circus and Shadow of Io (Io is a moon of the planet Jupiter). There is hardly any fusion featuring the tuba, so I wrote Rocket Science. Keyboardist Kyle Aho is playing a 1960s vintage Wurlitzer keyboard; the same model used on many early fusion recordings. This IS Rocket Science!

Stella by Starlight by Victor Young

Stella by Starlight was written for the 1944 movie The Uninvited. The song originally had no lyrics, but the copyright owners knew the song to be a masterpiece, so two years later they had lyrics written for it. Many famous musicians have since recorded Stella in a wide range of styles, but this is probably the first serious recording by a tuba player.

Limehouse Blues by Philip Braham & Douglas Furber

This is Limehouse Blues from 1921 in a laid-back rendition inspired by an Art Pepper recording and emphasizing the “bluesy-ness” of the song rather than its vaudeville origins.

Kalarama Rex by Bob Bowman

Renowned bassist Bob Bowman has lived in both New York City and Los Angeles, during which time he toured and recorded with Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Bud Shank, Karrin Allyson, Bobby Watson, Steve Houghton, John Stowell, Bob Sheppard, Steve Allee, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabakin Big Band.

Bob contributed his driving shuffle tune Kalarama Rex, which is named after a renowned American Saddlebred horse born 100 years ago. Bob grew up on a farm in Kansas and in 1963 his mother bought a descendant of Kalarama Rex named Dr. Sea. Bob explains: “We had his family tree. I saw that name and thought, ‘There’s a song in there!’”

Body and Soul by Johnny Green

Here is one of the greatest jazz ballads ever written; played on tuba.

This Goes Like This by Ralph Hepola

Jazz musicians have come up with some funny titles. Herbie Hancock wrote One Finger Snap. Chick Corea wrote Humpty Dumpty and Got a Match? Thelonious Monk had several: Well, You Needn’t; Ask Me Now;

Played Twice; Let’s Cool One and Let’s Call This.

This goes like this…

Roots and Wings by Ralph Hepola & Peter Shu

“Tu like a tuba, fufu like a funker and gro like a groover. This tune has Herbie fusion magic all over it.”

4 stars – Fiona Ord-Shrimpton, Editor & Curator of the Track of the Day section on All About Jazz, the world’s biggest jazz website, writing about this track.

Hepmobile by Ralph Hepola

Hepmobile is an uptempo solo vehicle for tuba by Ralph Hepola. The title is inspired by the Hupmobile, an autombile built in Detroit from 1909 through 1940. Mark Asche is on digital keyboard.

Blue Moment by Ralph Hepola

This is a quiet and reflective jazz ballad by Ralph Hepola; heard here with pianist Mark Asche.

Black-Eyed Susan Irish Air

Here’s a beautiful, rarely-heard, ancient Irish air in a truly unique rendition for tuba and digital keyboard; arranged by Ralph Hepola and Peter Shu.

Scottish Lullaby Scottish Air

Here’s another rarely-heard, ancient Celtic Air performed as never before on tuba and digital keyboard; arranged by Ralph Hepola and Peter Shu.