in the midst of weight loss (about twenty-or-so additional pounds ago)...
...This is the 1958 compensating E-flat Besson (with a 19-inch bell made from made-in-England Sterling BB-flat bell).
This is actually a 22" recording bell tuba, but the guys in the band (back before all cruises were cancelled) liked the upright bell better, as the low ceiling in the lounge allowed them to hear the tuba more easily.
Additionally, I have a top-action San Francisco/Cronkhite "Reunion Blues" bag that fits this instrument perfectly, with the 19-inch upright bell, so...
This is not posed...My daughter (who was visiting) took it while we were playing a tune.
Someday, I'd like to slick it out (I also have a 17-inch upright bell for it - made from an early-vintage YBB-201 bell), and re-lacquer it. It currently sports what's left of the original lacquer.
I NEVER pick up this tuba at home, but LOVE playing it on jobs...and (with top-action tubas) I can actually "slouch" and play them - if I choose to do so (as seen).
Sadly - just after the season ended (and just before the economic shutdown), our clarinet player discovered that he had colon cancer, and passed away very quickly.
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/comme ... fhid=10965