Trumpet, B-flat
Date1986
Place MadeOakland, California, United States, North America
ModelBel Canto Model 54
Serial No.1003-86
SignedStamped on bell: SEVERINSEN-AKRIGHT / MODEL / 54 / Bel Canto / 564-14th St. / OAKLAND, CA 94612MarkingsStamped on left side of second valve casing: 1003 / 86
Stamped valve stems, larger guide lug and upper valve caps, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionGold-plated over silver-plated brass, mother-of-pearl finger buttons, single loop, main tuning slide at first bow, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem, alignment by two unequal lugs on spring anchor plate, Monel pistons, single water key with hexagonal head at main tuning slide, trigger with thumb hook at first valve and pull-ring with stop screw at third valve, windway 3-2-1.
Severinsen-Akright Bel Canto trumpets are custom-made instruments developed in collaboration with jazz trumpeter Doc Severinsen (b. 1927), former leader of the Tonight Show Band. According to the Severinsen-Akright Inc. Serial Number Code System, this trumpet was the third made in October 1986 (1003 = third made in October; 86 = 1986). Doc Severinsen owned this trumpet and used it in recordings for Volumes I & II of the "Tonight Show Band." Volume I won the Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Big Band" in 1987. In a letter from January 10, 1992 (surviving with the trumpet), Severinsen states: “This is an exceptional horn that I wish I still had.”
DimensionsHeight: 484 mm
Tube length: 1300 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, tuning slide, valve slides): 11 mm, 8.7 mm, 11.65 mm, 11.64 mm (0.459 inches)
Bell diameter: 125 mm (ca. 5 inches)
ProvenancePreviously owned and played by Doc Severinsen, and used for recording the "Tonight Show Band" Volumes I & II in 1986 and 1987. Purchased from Giardinelli, New York, New York, 1994.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07101
On View
On view
