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Angelo Catalano

@gelo.catalano

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Multi-instrumentalist
Instrument repair 🧑‍🔧🎷🎺
“The Poet”

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Angelo’s Christmas Special is back 🗣️‼️
Doohickeys abound this year, including several new ones. Please enjoy the full video here, or on YouTube.
Merry Christmas from “The Poet”
And a happy New Year.
Stay swingin,
Angelo by @gelo.catalano

Just wanted to formally announce to friends and family that I am officially employed‼️ at Virtuosity Musical Instruments in Boston as a woodwind repair technician. I’ve actually already been working there for about 2 months.
I’ve come a long way since I first started working on my saxophones in the basement, and I still have a long way to go too. by @gelo.catalano

Playing some “How Deep Is The Ocean” with a mystery special guest pianist 🤔🐐👀. It was so great to see some friends the other day at Hartt. Probably will be a temporary post, but I wanted to put something up.

I’m playing my Conn New Wonder 1 tenor that I picked up a while back and repadded. by @gelo.catalano

My last (side) project of repair school in Red Wing, MN.
Working on a cornet in woodwind class⁉️

This “Silver Piston” Bb/A cornet, circa 1900, was probably made in Europe and sold by the Lyon and Healy company in Chicago. The instrument is bare brass and has nickel silver pistons. Thankfully, the valves are in pretty good shape for its age. It actually plays very well and is one of the oldest instruments in my collection.

The issue was that the original flat spring on the water key had broken off, rendering the instrument unplayable without holding the waterkey closed. Because of this very old design, it is not a simple matter to just replace the spring like you would on a modern water key. On this instrument, the original spring was permanently fixed into the key with a brass rivet.

I chose to replace it with a typical steel flat spring and screw like you see on modern woodwind instruments. While not exactly period appropriate, it does approximate the original design, and is much easier to maintain should spring break again. It’s also a pretty reversible change, as I still have the option to replace this with a traditional rivet if I wanted to later.

The process, as shown in the photos, was this:

(Photo 1, finished process)
(Photo 2, original spring broken off)

- grind down the rivet and remove the spring (it was pretty stuck on there)
- file down the rest of the brass pin flush with the surface of the key
- carefully drill a hole in the underside of the key
- Tap the hole to make internal threads for the screw
- cut the screw to the right length
- cut and shape the flat spring to the right size and tension
- install water key

While it is a brass instrument, the skills used for this repair were very relevant to woodwinds, as flat springs are on all modern woodwinds and are not usually found on modern brass. Some old woodwind instruments actually had these riveted springs too.

Very excited to have a successful result from this somewhat “surgical” repair. It’s cool to apply different techniques to unusual situations, and it’s interesting to bridge the gap between brass and woodwind repair.

Also, excited to graduate tomorrow. by @gelo.catalano

Transformation -
This is one of the things I’ve been looking forward to the most going to repair school. Restoring a crushed, buckled bell to its proper shape.

The first 5 pictures are the “before”
Swipe to see the “after”

This was my first attempt at this but it came out pretty good. This silver-plated trombone bell was pretty heavy and a little tough to work with, but I think I was able to do a good job for my first try.

The tools I used included dent rollers (pictured), a bell iron (an anvil-like object), mallets, burnishers, and I even made a custom bell flare mold. by @gelo.catalano

Making and soldering patches on a trumpet bell stem.
Back at repair school in MN

1. Cut shape from sheet brass
2. Anneal (make it bendy)
3. Into “The Pickle”
4. Shape against mandrel
5. Anneal and pickle again
6. Final fit
7. Soldering
8. Post-solder
9. Buff

Came out pretty good I think. Accidentally made a mark from the pliers in the annealing step 😔 One of the three was done with “tack soldering” which means I soldered one corner first before fitting and soldering the rest. by @gelo.catalano

It’s November now, which means it’s time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s first recording session. The actual date is unknown, but this November 1924 recording session is believed to be his first ever. It yielded two classic tracks, “Choo Choo” and “Rainy Nights.” Incidentally, “Choo Choo” also happened to be Ellington’s first *published* composition (though not his first composition). However, he was actually not the first to record it, as a couple recordings were made by other bands shortly before this one.

This video comes from my Duke Ellington 125th birthday celebration concert this April. This arrangement was one of about a dozen that I transcribed for this concert. We’re playing it practically note-for-note how it was played on the record!

Between his 125th birthday and this 100th anniversary, 2024 is a big year for Ellington‼️

As a side note / disclaimer, you may notice I’m playing my trusty C-melody on this. It has been documented that Otto Hardwick was playing alto on this recording session. However, I believe he was actually playing C-melody, which he also definitely played on several other recordings that year. I’m sure you all feel very strongly one way or another about this, so feel free to voice your opinions in the comments, but let’s try to keep it civil.

#ellington #dukeellington #earlyjazz #1924 #1920s #cmelody by @gelo.catalano

Crack pinning first attempt.

I’ve been doing a lot of great stuff at repair school in Minnesota. We’ve got a lot to catch up on. Just wanted to share this because it’s probably not every day you see someone drilling a hole in a clarinet.

The purpose of this is to create a support in the wall of the instrument at an angle against the crack which holds it in place and prevents it from opening further. by @gelo.catalano

In honor of Pres today on his 115th birthday, here’s a clip of me playing his tune “Dickie’s Dream” with @aidan.slate at The Lilypad a while ago. What a fun night that was and big thanks to everyone who came to see it.

Here I’m playing my “new” Conn New Wonder, made around 1918. It has a classic silver and gold plated finish, which matches my 1913 Conn Wonder alto. Really proud of this horn and after spending so much effort working on it, I’m wearing gloves because I don’t want it to mess up the finish right after I just polished it. So no, it’s not a fashion statement but for now it’s actually been a pretty good way to keep my horn clean. by @gelo.catalano

The Poet speaks. Swipe to read my essay 😭💀

TLDR: I graduated 👍

Don’t worry, there will be more photos, videos, performance clips, inside jokes, and Hartt memorabilia coming soon. by @gelo.catalano

🚨 GIG in MA 🚨
Angelo Catalano / Aidan Slate duo‼️
Performing live at The Lilypad in Cambridge, MA‼️

🚪 opens at 5:30, 🎹🎷 starts at 6:00‼️
There will be a $10 cover fee at the door.

It will be a memorable night of fun, swinging, audience-friendly music. Come check it out even if you “don’t listen to jazz” (and definitely don’t miss it if you do) ‼️‼️

We’ll be playing some classic jazz tunes, Great American Songbook pieces, ballads, and original compositions.

The Lilypad is a great venue for sitting down and enjoying great live music (such as the Angelo Catalano / Aidan Slate Duo 👀). Check out their website where you can also find more information about our show.

Once again, THIS SATURDAY July 20th, The Lilypad, Cambridge MA, 6:00 PM

Doohickeys will abound… 🎷🎺🎷👀 by @gelo.catalano

A little demo recording I did with THE @aidan.slate the other day.

#penniesfromheaven #jazz #benwebster #yeahman #swingin by @gelo.catalano