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What's the most underused instrument in jazz?

Steel drums, without the Reggae influences.

And for some bands, a metronome and common sense.
 
How about the Harp? Has anyone mentioned that instrument?
outside of the series of albums by Dorothy Ashby, the use of the harp on Charlie Parker with strings (no solos IIRC) and of course Alice Coltrane I don't know of anything else.
 
fdrennen said:

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Rufus Harley
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I own this album (but in mono). The notes on the back of the jacket refer to Harley as "the world's only jazz bagpipe player" and say he was inspired to play the bagpipes after watching a group of pipers play at JFK's funeral.

I agree that it was probably not a big seller; my copy (annotated by the original owner) was purchased as a 97-cents cutout at Woolworth's on March 10, 1969.
 
I went to a small jazz joint in Portland OR and a guy from the Oregon Symphony performed a few times; his specialty: Jazz bassoon.

He used to close with a jazz version of the theme from "The Leave It to Beaver Show" (humorous, weird, but oddly expressive).

On certain notes the bassoon would have a surgical glove wave at the audience. Bizarre!
 
fdrennen said:
How about the Harp? Has anyone mentioned that instrument?
outside of the series of albums by Dorothy Ashby, the use of the harp on Charlie Parker with strings (no solos IIRC) and of course Alice Coltrane I don't know of anything else.
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If you like New Age stuff - Andreas Vollenweider.

On the jazz side - try Carlos Guedes & Desvio. Carlos plays an custom made electro-acoustic harp. Very cool. Get a copy of the CD "Churun Meru". Worth the price.

Also Cindy Horstman, some of her stuff from the 90's - like "In Flight".
 
I have played Recorders in a Jazz setting when you have direct contact with the touch holes you can do amazing things. In place of flugelhorns I played an Alto Peckhorn. One instrument you rarely see in a Jazz setting these days is a Coronet. There is an alto trombone I got to play with once wish I had one. Flutes are great my favorite to play is a alto flute, one of the sexiest sounding instruments there is. But the most underused jazz instrument is a Bass Saxophone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwPMPgSPcNA
and here is the monster the Contra-Bass Sax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbG6CQRz-hk

As for bagpipes forget the Scottish bagpipe that is a battle instrument, with 8 notes and 4 drones, instead think of the Uilleann pipes of Ireland how I wish I could play one but they are so hard to play properly, add the elbow stops and it is devilish but in the hands of a master heavenly. If you want to get totally blown away with what a set of Uilleann pipes can do listen to what I consider the greatest Fusion band in the world, The AfroCelt Sound System.
 
DeeCee said:
I went to a small jazz joint in Portland OR and a guy from the Oregon Symphony performed a few times; his specialty: Jazz bassoon.

He used to close with a jazz version of the theme from "The Leave It to Beaver Show" (humorous, weird, but oddly expressive).

On certain notes the bassoon would have a surgical glove wave at the audience. Bizarre!
Click to expand...

Illinois Jacquet began his journey as a bassoonist and pulled it out on this album...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjdrBrAA49k

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