Ben Stapp: Uzmic Ro’Samg (Live Solo Tuba)

A little-known historic fact: before subwoofers existed, Roman chariots were supposedly outfitted with tubas to supply the low- end rumble as they charged into battle against the Carthaginians. Modern proof of that kind of sonic power might be found in the music of Ben Stapp, whose tuba playing can shake the air as much as it can mesmerize the mind.

Stapp's career has spanned a wide and exploratory range. His earlier recordings include Ecstasis (Uqbar Music, 2008) with Satoshi Takeishi and Tony Malaby, Mind Creature Sound Dasein (Fundacja Słuchaj!, 2019) with Joe Morris and Stephen Haynes, and the ambitious opera Myrrha's Red Book. He has also been heard alongside William Parker, Steve Swell and Steven Bernstein—musicians equally comfortable pushing beyond traditional boundaries. (A quick correction: the tuba itself was not invented until the mid-19th century. Yet it is easy to imagine that if the Romans had one, the walls of Carthage might still be vibrating). In early jazz, the tuba was prized for a similar reason—it could cut through the mix when the string bass could not be captured by primitive recording equipment. Stapp takes that lineage and propels it into deep space.

A science fiction writer as well as a musician, Stapp uses his tuba and sousaphone as interstellar vehicles. On "Klonopod," he conjures a throbbing, otherworldly growl that sounds somewhere between a submerged submarine and a deep- sea leviathan. On "Eono," he reveals a surprising delicacy—almost chamber-like—while "Egdon" moves with a liquid grace, each note flowing into the next. Where he truly astounds, though, is in his manipulation of extended techniques and pedal effects: "Keeper" warns with subterranean rumbles and impossible upper-register cries; "Freya," "Galactic Plankton" and "Moonship" transform the tuba into a living, breathing alien organism.

By the album's end, Stapp's horn no longer feels earthbound. Its vibrations echo like transmissions from a distant galaxy—signals of intelligence carried on waves of breath and brass. With Ben Stapp, the tuba becomes not just an instrument, but a portal, summoning sounds from a universe where music and science fiction are one and the same.

Comments