Flumpet, B-flat
Maker
David G. Monette
Maker
Tami Dean
(jeweler and goldsmith)
Date1999
Place MadePortland, Oregon, United States, North America
ModelPresentation Flumpet II
Serial No.1500
SignedEngraved on bell: This / Flumpet / was / Designed and / built by / DAVID MONETTE / & / TAMI DEAN / To celebrate / the collection of / JOE & JOELLA / UTLEY / OCT. 22, 1999 MarkingsStamped on left side of second valve casing: Monette / PORTLAND, OR. / USA
Stamped on right side of second valve casing: 1500
Stamped inside bottom valve caps: 84
Stamped on valve stems, respectively: 1, 2, 3
DescriptionGold-plated over silver-plated brass, satin-finish, inlayed diamonds at bottom valve caps, finger buttons with sterling silver, opal, black onyx and turquoise inlay, single loop, main tuning slide at first bow, three Périnet valves (1, ½, 1½), top-sprung, spring inside hollow stem with wide openings, alignment by T-shaped lug on black plastic spring anchor plate, Amado water key at main tuning slide, trigger with pull-ring at first and third valve slides, windway 3-2-1.
Two gold-plated mouthpieces, stamped: MONETTE // FL 6 and MONETTE // FL 4S
David Monette developed this cross between a trumpet and a flugelhorn for jazz legend Art Farmer, calling it "flumpet." The prototype was made in 1989 with the intension to create an instrument that would combine the mellowness of the flugelhorn with the brilliance of the trumpet.
This presentation flumpet was specially made to celebrate the Utley Collection and is closely modelled on Art Farmer’s presentation flumpet, serial number 1348, completed in March 1997. The link between the two flumpets is the milled pattern on the bottom valve caps, symbolizing the Rio Grande in Farmer’s instrument and the Appalachian Foothills in the Utley Collection flumpet, with the diamonds representing the stars at night. While saw-cut images and inlayed gems were already implemented in other presentation instruments by Monette, the Oregon jeweler Tami Dean added a new three-dimensional level, reflecting highlights from the Utley collection. Saw-cuts depict a keyed bugle, a circular cornet, a natural trumpet, an over-the-shoulder cornet, a Sax trumpet with six-independent valves, a saxhorn, a signaling horn, and a two-valve cornopean. One saw-cut represents the face of a cougar that Joe hunted in Alberta. Three-dimensional miniature instruments illustrate a cluster of six cornetti and two Indian horns (kombu) at the bows. The finger button inlays represent the elements of earth, water, and fire, while every time one button is depressed the wind is represented by blowing into the instrument.
DimensionsHeight: 434 mm
Tube length: 1323 mm
Bore profile (initial, minimum, valve slides): 12.3 mm, 9.7 mm, 11.86 mm (0.467 inches)
Bell diameter: 151 mm (6 inches)
ProvenanceCommissioned by Joe and Joella Utley in 1999 from David G. Monette Co., Portland, Oregon.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 1: Instruments of the Single Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2012), p. XVII.
-------. “The Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection: A Trumpeter’s Dream Comes True,” International Trumpet Guild Journal 34, no 4 (June 2010), pp. 43, 45.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number09828
On View
Not on view
