Movies, TV shows, commercials...these are just a few of the places you might hear some really fantastic music and some fantastic tuba-playing. The Hollywood studios are where most of it is recorded.

And just who are the tuba players we hear the most?

The best guess for many years was Tommy Johnson or Jim Self. They are the two most long-serving tuba players in Hollywood; true legends. But there are other tuba players that we are hearing more of these days. Who are they? How did they get into the scene? What are they playing on?

I went right to the man who would know...Jim Self. He pointed me towards these gentlemen who are getting the most exposure and are the new generation of Hollywood studio tubists: Doug Tornquist, John Van Houten, Fred Greene and Bill Reichenbach. I had questions for them, they had answers.

Bill Reichenbach

SO - How long have you been in Los Angeles?
BR - Since July of 1975.

SO - How did you get your start playing in the L.A. studio/freelance scene?
BR - I did a couple of Chuck Mangione albums out here before I moved out. I met some great players then, like Vince DeRosa, the horn player, and Shelly Manne, the drummer. I also knew some people from my time on Buddy Rich's Band. When I moved out here, some of those people gave me advise and help.


SO - Where's the best/most accessible place to hear you play on film? Live?
BR - I've played on at least 1000 albums including Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, David Foster, Barbara Streisand, etc. These are commercial records and not solo spots. As a soloist, I've played on several albums with Mike Davis (Bonetown, New Brass, Absolute Trombone 2 and others), several albums with Toshiko Okiyoshi/Lew Tabakin Big Band, my own jazz quartet album Special Edition, both Wayne Bergeron albums (tuba solo on the most recent).

As a live player, I do some clinics and concerts at universities and brass conferences, etc. I also play in jazz clubs in L.A. occasionally.

SO - What are the jobs you do most?
BR - These days, I do mostly motion picture sound tracks.

SO - You're a doubler...how much more work have you picked up for being able to double on different instruments?
BR - A large percentage of my work has been doubling. When I first started in the business, I was playing mostly tenor and bass trombone with occasional euphonium and tuba gigs.

For about the last 15 years, it has been more bass trombone (my major instrument), contra bass trombone, and tuba with the occasional cimbasso call.

SO - Do you teach anywhere?
BR - I teach at home and I sometimes have a couple students at Cal State Long Beach.

SO - What is the highest profile movie/TV show you've done to date?
BR - That's a tough question. From a ticket sales standpoint, it might be one of the Pixar animated films like Finding Nemo or Ratatouille. Or maybe Forrest Gump.

SO - What would you say is the best/most memorable gig(s) you've ever done?
BR - That would be very difficult to say. There have been some memorable film scores by composers such as John Williams, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, and quite a few others.
On records, my favorite commercail record project was probably an Al Jarreau album called High Crime on which I played only alto trombone. That's not why it's my favorite. I just like the tunes and the horn charts are great.

SO - The obligatory equipment question....what instruments and mouthpieces do you currently use?
BR - Bass trombone - Conn/Greenhoe 62-H with George Roberts SO mpc
-Conn 8-H tenor trb with 5-G mpc
-Bach 6/16m tenor with 6 1/2 A mpc
-Bach Bass Trumpet with 6 1/2 A mpc
-Yamaha YEP-321 Euphonium with various mpcs
-BooseyHawkes Eb 4 valve compensating Tuba and other antique brass instruments.

SO - How has the ongoing writers' strike affected your work or the work of others you know?
BR - We are involved in projects that the writers worked on quite a while ago. Most pictures are written and rewritten a good 2 years before the scoring is even thought of.

In TV work, the animated shows are written way in advance so the animation can get done.
The shows that will run out of scripts are shows like Lost and the dramatic episodic shows. There are not as many of these shows as there was 20 years ago.However, if the strike was to last a year or so, we would probably start to feel it.

SO - Is there anything else you want to say about your job(s) that most people may not know?
BR - It's a great job to have. I work with some of the greatest musicians in the world.
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John Van Houten

SO - How long have you been in Los Angeles?
JVH - I am a native of Los Angeles, so that would put me at 50 years.

SO - How did you get your start playing in the L.A. studio/freelance scene?
JVH - Tommy Johnson sent me on some television shows and film dates while I was still in my Spring Semester as a senior at USC. I also met several young composers (such as Chris Young, Nathan Wang and Michael Giacchino) and several orchestrators, some of which helped introduce me to these outstanding composers.

SO - Where's the best/most accessible place to hear you play on film? Live?
JVH - One recent film I played on, Ratatouille, had a big tuba solo. The cue was called "Welcome to Hell" and it takes place when the head chef yells at the kitchen staff. Other well-known recent films include, Spiderman 3, The Pirates of the Carribean 1, 2 and 3, and The Incredibles. I also play regularly on the television shows, The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad.

Also, Bill Reichenbach produced a charity Christmas CD (all trombone) this summer (which is for sale through This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and I was lucky enough to get to play contrabass trombone on this remarkable recording. All the proceeds from this endeavor go to "Hearts of Music," which supports musicians who are in need of health care.

In terms of live music I am a regular sub with the LA Philharmonic, I play and contract the Long Beach Opera, The American Winds Concert Band, and I've been a member of (and now also contract) the Long Beach Municipal Band, since 1981.

SO - What are the jobs you do most?
JVH - The majority of my work is in film and tv, but I've also made it a point to book my brass quintet on a regular basis.

SO - Do you teach anywhere?
JVH - I teach at Cal State University, Long Beach, where I have a studio of twelve tubas and I also teach a Music Business class. The other school I teach at currently is Azusa Pacific University.

SO - What is the highest profile movie/TV show you've done to date?
JVH - Probably the highest profile movie would be The Incredibles and for television, although I sub for The Simpsons, I did the entire five seasons of Futurama, where I played CC Tuba, F Tuba, Cimbasso and Contrabass trombone on each show.

SO - What would you say is the best/most memorable gig(s) you've ever done?
JVH - It would have to be The Planet of the Apes movie because not only was it an incredible score, with sixteen french horns, twelve trombones and two tubas, it was the first time I got to spend the most time working with Tommy Johnson. Other memorable gigs would include The Incredibles, Spiderman 3 and Ratatouille.

SO - The obligatory equipment question....what instruments and mouthpieces do you currently use?
JVH - CC Tuba VMI (Neptune) 6/4 Rotary Valve (I bought this from Tommy Johnson -- he always referred to it as a 188 on steroids)
- F Tuba Miraphone (Firebird)
-CC Cimbasso Rudi Meinl
-BBb Contrabass Trombone Miraphone
-Bass Trombone Getzen (David Taylor model)
Mouthpieces: For Tubas/Cimbasso - The JVH Turbo; for Contrabass - Miraphone C4; and for Bass Trombone - Doug Houser (Hardwick model)

SO - How has the ongoing writers' strike affected your work or the work of others you know?
JVH - It hasn't affected me too much because the animated TV shows I work on have many episodes completed and backlogged for music production... so recording has continued as usual. And in February I'm doing Michael Giacchino's score for Speed Racer, for which production had been completed before the strike began. Similarly, I'm also in the process of recording Michael Giacchino's score for the next Star Trek movie. We began recording this in December and will continue dates through Spring.

SO - Is there anything else you want to say about your job(s) that most people may not know?
JVH - I feel like I'm the luckiest person alive to be able to make a living doing what I love the most. And I have the full support of my wife, Holly, who homeschools our two daughters, Charlotte and Grace.

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