Nirschl Mellophone

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that Nirschl, the esteemed German brass instrument manufacturer responsible for lots of enormous 6/4 CC tubas, once sold a marching mellophone. There is very little record of the instrument on the Internet; its entire presence consists of a Middle Horn Leader review, a discussion in episode 73 of the MelloCast podcast, an old Reverb listing, and a couple of derelict shells of online store pages for the instrument from over a decade ago (listed price was $899!).

The instrument is called the E-102 (E-102SP in silver plate), and while it was not actually built by Walter Nirschl, it is still an intriguing nstrument. Even among mellophone enthusiasts this instrument is usually forgotten, if it was ever known about to begin with. It might as well not exist…right?

Nirschl E-102SP

Well, I suspect the primary reason it gets forgotten as a mellophone is because it’s not very good at being one. In fact, it’s so bad at being a mellophone that I think it being marketed as one was a mistake. The reason for this deficiency is the bell; one of the mellophone’s defining features both visually and sonically is the massive 10” or larger bell. Nirschl decided to skip this feature entirely, instead giving it a relatively small 8” bell. In a way, this makes it somewhat of a poor man’s alto flugelhorn, or an alto bugle pitched in F.

So, how does it work as an alto flugelhorn? The answer is, unfortunately, not very well. Using the mouthpiece from an alto horn or alto trumpet results in a woefully flat instrument - with a Denis Wick, the instrument is so flat it’s almost down a whole step to E-natural (but not quite low enough that you can actually use it that way). This is a problem shared with the Kanstul KAH-175 alto bugle in G, though that instrument is of much better quality. The Kanstul, at least, is in tune when you use a marching mellophone mouthpiece like a Benge Mello 6, which is what it was designed for. The same cannot be said of the Nirschl E-102, as even with the shallowest marching mellophone mouthpiece it still plays flat with the main tuning slide all the way in!

Weirdly, the mouthpieces I found to work best with the Nirschl don’t even have the right shank: a French horn mouthpiece and an antique Conn circular mellophone mouthpiece. Despite not seating in the Nirschl’s mouthpiece receiver at all, they gave the best sound and intonation out of all the mouthpieces I had, and I gave its new owner the old Conn mouthpiece when I sold it. That mouthpiece never worked well in any of my circular mellophones!

I can see now why the Nirschl E-102 never took off. In its factory state, it is thruthfully as useless as the Getzen frumpet, and bears the odd distinction of being the only marching mellophone (or mellophone-adjacent object) I know of that actually works better with a horn mouthpiece. With marching mellophone or alto horn mouthpieces, your only real option is to get the horn lengthened to E-flat, as the main tuning slide has no room to shorten up to pitch with those mouthpieces.

Yamaha Mellophone Sisters

The Yamaha YMP-200 series of marching mellophones is the standard by which all other marching mellophones are measured. It is well-known to be arguably the best marching mellophone there is, so it often commands significantly higher prices on the used market than any other brand. The current model, the YMP-204M, is the pinnacle of mellophone design; however, even the first YMP-201M is an excellent instrument leaps and bounds ahead of most other marching brass.

However, the YMP-201M was not the first Yamaha mellophone. That honor goes to the rare and mostly unknown (at least in the West) YMP-201 (no M) circular mellophone.

On the left is my YMP-201; on the right is my YMP-201M. They’re sisters!

However, the 201M is not just a 201 re-wrapped to point the bell forwards; there are some significant differences. The 201 has a huge 12” bell and a small .449” bore, while the 201M has a more standard 10” bell and .462” bore. The 201 can play in F or E-flat just by rerouting the two tuning slides built into the instrument - no extra slides needed! (This was also a feature on certain York mellophones.) Meanwhile, the 201M only plays in F. The 201 also has the traditional cornet shank, while the 201M uses a trumpet shank like other marching mellophones. Despite the only difference in designation being a single “M”, the two instruments are completely separate designs.

They play and sound different, too. The 201M sounds like a marching mellophone should, has a fabulous upper register, and can sound like an alto flugelhorn with an alto horn mouthpiece. It is light, balanced, and easy to play. The 201 meanwhile has a smaller yet darker sound that blends with anything. While other circular mellophones have more colorful, interesting sounds (my 1925 Buescher 25 and 1918 Conn 6E come immediately to mind), the 201M could be the ultimate gigging circular mellophone. It plays in tune, it has fast modern valves, it has a transparent, chameleon sound, but it can still light up and is easy to play in all registers. It is not the most glamorous circular mellophone, but it just works.

It is also how modern it feels in comparison to all other circular mellophones that makes it as interesting as it is. It feels modern because it IS modern; it started production in the 1980s! From what I have been told by a Japanese source, French horns were too expensive for many school bands in Japan, so they used the traditional mellophone into the 1990s as a French horn substitute. Yamaha thus made the relatively affordable YMP-201 exclusively for the Japanese domestic market, hence why it is so rare in the West.

If you can find either a YMP-201 or any YMP-20xM for a good price, I would highly recommend it. Both are the most competent instruments of their type and can be played to any standard. I never thought my Conn 16E would step down as my primary gigging bell-front alto brass instrument, but once my 201M arrived I knew it had been dethroned. With a Hammond 5MP marching mellophone mouthpiece, the 201M is unbeatable.

Alto Cornet

The alto cornet in F or E-flat is a rare bird. The easiest way to get your hands on one (at least in North America) is to find a DEG model 1220 from the 1970s. This is tricky to do, because they are usually labelled as mellophones on sale ads. DEG themselves marketed the 1220 as a “marching alto/French horn”, but that is a very inaccurate description of the instrument. It is a true alto cornet in F, with optional E-flat slide. Over the years I have seen several come and go on eBay, and it seems that they were made with at least three different bell sizes. The one I owned had the smallest and most common size that I have seen, at about 6.1”.

The 1220 was manufactured for DEG by Willson, as were many DEG/Dynasty instruments in the 1970s. Willson also sold a (non-DEG-branded) version standing in E-flat in their home market of Switzerland; I would love to know if it was marketed there as an alto cornet, and which model came first. It has a trumpet shank, accepts flugelhorn mutes, and is not much larger than a standard B-flat cornet. Alto horn mouthpieces are the best fit, though I’ve also had good results with an extremely small trombone mouthpiece.

DEG 1220 (left) next to Bach CR-310 cornet (right)

It plays very well, and despite overwhelming external similarities to the 1970s Dynasty III alto bugle (also made by Willson), it sounds noticeably different even when both are played with the same mouthpiece. The Dynasty III sounds like a big flugelhorn (which is essentially what it is) with a horn-like edge when pushed, while the DEG 1220 is all cornet. Noticeably brighter and easily colored, with a rocking low register and a secure high register that requires a good deal of effort above written high C (sounding F5). Unlike many uncommon alto brass instruments, the 1220 has lock-tight slots. Intonation is not perfect but easily manageable.

While I don’t believe the 1220 is much of a soloist’s instrument, it is a champion at playing in a brass section. It can blend seamlessly with trombones or flugelhorns, and I have used it very successfully in recording sessions to do just that. In a 6-part horn section consisting of 2 trumpets, flugelhorn, alto cornet, and 2 trombones, the alto cornet is the perfect middle voice. The Yamaha YMP-201 (non-M) circular mellophone has similar qualities, but the DEG 1220 is more convenient to bring to a session due to its very compact size and forward-facing bell. This also makes it an excellent desk instrument for the alto brass player, or even the low brass player.

In short, the DEG 1220 is an excellent instrument that any multi-brass player could find good uses for, especially in the studio. They don’t show up for sale very often, but they usually go for a few hundred dollars. You’ll have the most luck finding one hiding in the mellophone ads.

Meehaphone

The Meehaphone is an enormously rare breed of 2-valve competition bugle in G, built and used from 1987 to 1991. It was designed by Jack Meehan and Zig Kanstul for the Concord Blue Devils drum and bugle corps, in an effort to streamline their middle voice section from three types of G bugle (mellophone, flugelhorn, and French horn) to one.

The exact number built is not certain, but as the meehaphones were built by Kanstul specifically for the Blue Devils, it is likely that there were only enough made to fill out the corps’ mid-voice section. It seems that at the time the Blue Devils’ mid-voice was consistently 14 players, based on instrumentations noted in this Middle Horn Leader interview with Wayne Downey and my own studying of the relevant footage online. It is thus reasonable to conclude that there were most likely 14 production meehaphones built. There was also at least one prototype built in F with 3 valves, which is now owned by Bobby Pirtle and resembles a giant flugelhorn.

According to the late Ken Norman, the meehaphone has a bell flare identical to the Olds BU-10 and Conn 92L French horn bugles, mated to a 2-valve .415” bore flugelhorn body. It is essentially a bell-front field descant horn in G. At the time, Terry Warburton made custom mouthpieces for the meehaphones, labelled “Downey BD”. The Blue Devils used an all-meehaphone alto section for the 1987-1990 DCI seasons, and in 1991 they used 4 mellophones and 10 meehaphones. The meehaphones were shelved shortly thereafter when new 3-valve G flugelhorns from Yamaha arrived.

According to all accounts, they were the loudest alto bugle ever created. In fact, on the bell is stamped “MFL”, which does not stand for “Marching Flugelhorn” but “Mother F***ing Loud”! They had a darker sound than mellophones and projected very well, but notes above written G at the top of the staff (sounding D5) were very hard to center. Here’s the Blue Devils’ 1988 show on YouTube, with plenty of meehaphone action to go around. After 1991, the meehaphones fell off the map. Most of them were lost in a single shipment, which has never been found. There are only a handful whose whereabouts are known, and all but one are on display in various states of functionality in drum corps-related museums.

So, that’s the lore…now, here’s my practical experience.

Here is an original Kanstul meehaphone, serial #1028, that I had the privilege of owning for a while. It was previously owned by Ken Norman, and is the single known example not in a museum.

When played softly, it has a French flugelhorn-like quality to the sound, which makes sense considering the .415” flugel leadpipe and valve block. When pushed, it gets bright with a trumpet-like edge, but without what I would describe as the mellophone’s tearing metal zing. It’s a very interesting sound that’s clearly related to my other alto bugles, but at the same time standing apart from them.

But don’t let me just talk about how it sounds. Have a listen for yourself!

These clips were all recorded close-miced into a Cascade Fat Head ribbon microphone and SSL2 audio interface. The ensemble excerpt in particular provides a good summary of the meehaphone’s qualities…both good and bad. The notes above the staff live up to their squirrelly reputation; while I could play them effectively (I suspect thanks to my Conn 16E experience), it is certainly a treacherous register. In general the intonation isn’t the best, but it’s nowhere near the worst I’ve played either.

It’s important to note that I did not have an original Downey BD mouthpiece made by Terry Warburton for the meehaphones. Mine came with a Burbank F mouthpiece with a cylindrical shank, and while it worked I didn’t feel that it was an ideal mouthpiece for the instrument.

For more playing and practical information about the meehaphone, check out this video:

Meehaphone (left) next to Couesnon flugelhorn (right)

Frumpet

The Getzen model 383 Frumpet, or “French Horn Trumpet” as it was also marketed, is a unique alto brass instrument that can play extremely loud. It also accepts bass trombone mutes, and has decent valves and ergonomics.

That is everything good that can be said about it.

It was made from 1964 to 1985 and was another attempt at a marching instrument for French horn players. It has a .464” bore and plays in alto F or Eb, with the Eb slide playing a little better. It takes French horn mouthpieces, but the length and taper of the instrument are not an acoustic match for that and the result truly horrendous. It has shockingly bad intonation that makes the Conn 16E mellophonium seem amazing by comparison, and its anemic sound doesn’t make up for it. You can find them cheap on eBay, but they are painfully useless except to use as a base for a mildly interesting lamp.

UNLESS…

…you get it modified.

All that’s needed to turn the frumpet from an inconveniently-sized paperweight into a usable and interesting instrument is to swap the leadpipe for either an alto horn or trombone leadpipe. That way you can use bigger mouthpieces that actually work with the bore profile, eliminating the horrible intonation problems. If you take it a step further and also swap the weird bell for a small trombone bell, you have yourself a nice alto valve trombone. You can also lower it to C or Bb (with the new leadpipe/bell) and get a bass trumpet of sorts.

One thing that has not been tried yet to my knowledge is to keep the stock bell and horn leadpipe, but put a bunch of tubing on it to get it down to Bb or even low F, convert it to point up instead of out in front, and see how it works as the world’s jankiest Wagner tuba. I would very much like to try that.

Anyway, don’t buy a frumpet unless you plan to either turn it into a lamp, use it for parts or as soldering practice, or extensively modify it. And don’t spend more than about $100.

Alto Bugle

“Alto bugle” typically refers to a type of competition bugle pitched in G for use in drum and bugle corps. Of the four main types of mid-voice bugle used in drum corps history (mellophone, French horn, alto, flugelhorn), the alto bugle is probably the rarest type. Usually based on a G mellophone bugle but with a much smaller bell, they didn’t make a lasting impression on the field. However, they offer intriguing possibilities for use outside of drum corps as they are essentially big flugelhorns in G. (There were actual G flugelhorns in DCI as well, but those were generally standard B-flat flugelhorns with tubing added.)

Many alto bugles had 2 valves, as that was the rule in DCI until 1990. But there are a few models of 3-valve alto bugle that exist. These are as follows:

• Dynasty III alto bugle (late 1970s): Likely the earliest 3-valve alto bugle to be made. As DCI was over a decade away from legalizing 3 valves, the complete Dynasty III bugle line was made (mostly by Willson) for the European market. Surviving examples of any type of Dynasty III bugle are extremely rare today.

• Dynasty late-pattern alto bugle: This one was based on Dynasty’s existing mellophone design rather than a separate one, and was made in-house instead of by Willson. (The link calls it a flugelhorn bugle, but the Dynasty 3-valve flugelhorn bugle was a different beast made by slapping longer slides on a DEG Signature 2000 Bb flugel.)

• Kanstul KAB-175 (‘90s, early model): This early model Kanstul alto bugle design resembles a smaller King 1120 marching mellophone, and as both instruments were designed by Zig Kanstul, is probably where the King design originated.

• Kanstul 175 (late model): The later model used a totally new wrap and was made until Kanstul went out of business in 2019.

• Andalucia AdVance Series Alto Horn: This is a current-production instrument in F, based on the Kanstul Meehaphone. The Meehaphone was a 2-valve instrument used from 1987-1991, and while it was built around a French horn bugle bell and was essentially a field descant horn in G, it successfully fulfilled the same role as an alto bugle (darker sound than a mellophone, but more projection than a flugelhorn).

At one time I owned the only Dynasty III alto bugle I have ever seen. I haven’t been able to find any record of another individual example on the Internet. As none were made for the US domestic market, it may be the only one in the country. But rare G bugles have a funny tendency to show up in the weirdest places, so there could be others hiding in the States. I bought mine from Canada.

The following picture shows the Dynasty III, and also my DEG 1220 alto cornet in F for comparison, also made by Willson around the same timeframe and also very rare (but much more common than the Dynasty III!). It’s easy to see the family resemblance between the two instruments, even though they actually sound quite different.

Dynasty III G alto bugle (left) and DEG 1220 F alto cornet (right)

As the names imply, the alto bugle sounds like a flugelhorn, while the alto cornet sounds like a cornet. The alto bugle has a fat, dark flugel sound; the alto cornet has a brighter, leaner cornet sound. Both instruments play very well.

I also used to own an early pattern Kanstul KAB-175.

This instrument has a fabulous flugelhorn sound with a tenor horn mouthpiece (the same one I used in the Dynasty alto bugle and alto cornet). It is smoother and a shade darker than the Dynasty, and is a really refined sound. Which is not to say the Dynasty is rough; compared back to back with my lovely Couesnon flugelhorn the Dynasty sounds quite close, just with a bit more beef in the sound. But the Kanstul takes it a step further and makes the sound a little rounder and sweeter still.

Unfortunately, with this mouthpiece the instrument also plays quite flat with the tuning slide all the way in. This is likely because it was designed around the classic Mello 6 marching mellophone mouthpiece. I have one of those, and putting either it or my Hammond 5MP marching mello piece into the Kanstul fixes the pitch and feels like the right match for the horn size-wise…but also entirely loses that lovely velvet flugelhorn sound. With the Mello 6 it predictably sounds like a more focused, direct marching mellophone. Very bright and trumpety, but much fatter than any trumpet (or G soprano bugle). There may be a place for this sound, but I couldn’t find it and the big flugelhorn sound is really what I want in an alto bugle, so I eventually sold the Kanstul.

Physically, the Kanstul is fantastic. The valves are the best I’ve ever owned in any kind of brass instrument…lightning fast and whisper quiet. The instrument itself feels like it weighs nothing in the hand, owning to its light weight and great balance. I’m sure it would be a pleasure to march with, as instant horn snaps and moves are a piece of cake. The left hand grip is comfortable, there is a 1st valve slide kicker…it has everything you want. It feels like a massive leap forward in alto bugle design from the Dynasty, although the Dynasty’s super-compact form factor is definitely convenient. It is a shame then that the Kanstul doesn’t work out of the box with the tenor horn mouthpiece than the Dynasty happily accepts without issue; it could be that that early alto design was based around a larger, more tenor horn-like mouthpiece.

Although I never found a real use for the Kanstul and thus sold it, I do miss it.

To hear these alto bugles, check out this video:

Mellophonium

The mellophonium is the primary ancestor of the modern marching mellophone. It is a traditional circular mellophone with the bell straightened out, and usually has a cornet shank. Even many brass players don’t know what a mellophonium is, and those that do (mostly Stan Kenton fans and alto brass nerds like myself) can be forgiven for thinking that “mellophonium” = Conn 16E. In fact, while the Conn 16E is by far the most famous model of mellophonium thanks to its use in the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1960 to 1963, it is not the only one. There were lots of mellophoniums (mellophonia?) at the time: Holton M-601 and M-602, Reynolds Contempora ML-12, Courtois, Couesnon, Vox Ampliphonic, Glier (in E-flat), and more. You can even still buy a new mellophonium in 2022, courtesy of Amati Kraslice (the AMP-203).

The mellophonium has a cool sound that is related to, but not quite the same as, a mellophone (either the traditional circular or bell-front marching variety). Stan Kenton’s electric 4-man mellophonium section inspired the creation of the mellophone bugle in G for use in competitive drum and bugle corps, which in turn directly led to the modern marching mellophone. The marching mellophone was also the mellophonium’s grave digger, because even the early Olds-pattern marching mellophones were much better instruments.

While not the only kind of mellophonium, the Conn 16E was the first (beginning production in 1957), is the most common to find today, and is the quintessential example of the type. Despite this, it is objectively a terrible design. It was built in F with an E-flat crook, so Conn decided to build the valve slides somewhere in between…too long for F, too short for E-flat! (It actually plays best in tune in E with the main tuning slide all the way out…I’ve played gigs with it that way!) Its intonation is a great struggle, it has extremely wide partials that are tricky to center, it has mediocre long-travel pistons, and it has a whiny and difficult upper register that requires tons of alternate fingerings to get anywhere near in tune. It is also an ergonomic nightmare, and every mellophoniumist has to find a grip that isn’t painful. The “standard” (as much as that word can be applied to anything mellophonium-related) grip is to hold it by the 3rd valve slide, like so:

This is the grip that most of the Kenton section used, although they typically canted the instrument less than I do. Some of them grasped the top of the valve block while others cradled the bottom bow. There are a few ways to do it and it really depends on the individual player, but if you’ve just acquired a 16E and haven’t figured out how to hold it yet I recommend trying my canted 3rd valve slide grip as pictured above.

There is also the issue of mouthpieces. The best mouthpiece for a 16E (and likely other mellophoniums) is unquestionably the Conn 1 that came with it. However, while abused and neglected 16Es can be found easily, the Conn 1 is significantly more difficult to find. If your 16E didn’t come with its Conn 1, the only way to get one is usually to find another 16E for sale that comes with it. (The same is usually true for the E-flat crook, but fortunately you can still buy a new one of those through Allied Supply, part # C-06028-5.)

If you are a trumpet or horn player that is used to mouthpieces on the smaller side, the Legends Scodwell Mello mellophonium mouthpiece is a great option. That is a new production mouthpiece from Legends Brass that plays as well as the Conn 1, but is equivalent to a trumpet 5C in size. Too small for many players (including me), but you can likely custom order it in a bigger diameter. The Conn 1 has an inner diameter a touch over 18 mm, the same as a Schilke 22 trumpet mouthpiece.

The third option is a Bach traditional mellophone mouthpiece, which has the right cornet shank for the mellophonium. Before I got my Conn 1 I used a Bach 5 of this type, and it was ok but not great. The low and middle registers are nice and beefy, but the high register is very difficult. The beauty of the Conn 1 is that it works well from the lowest F# (sounding B2) all the way up to the scream register (E above the staff and beyond), while the Bach only works well in the staff and below. The Bach really is much better suited for circular mellophones and has found a happy home with one of mine.

Of course, cornet mouthpieces do fit. But deep British-style cornet mouthpieces don’t do anything well on it, and shallower American-style cornet mouthpieces only work for screamer mellophonium parts. They do hilariously well at that (which is why the Kenton section used them when they wanted to be disruptive), but the mellophonium becomes much more of a weapon than a musical instrument when equipped as such.

So, can the 16E be tamed? Oh yes. The Kenton section had it figured out by the end of its time in 1963, and exceptional players like Ray Starling made it sing (it’s this video that made me want to get a 16E of my own back in 2011). And as someone who has played numerous live gigs and recording sessions on mine, I feel qualified enough to say that I have tamed it. It took years of effort, but I feel that the result was worth it.

Now, the more important question. Should you buy one?

The first thing you should know is that you can get them dirt cheap. They were used in high school and college marching bands for years, and Conn didn’t actually didn’t stop making the 16E until 1979, so there are a LOT still floating around. As they are completely obsolete, when they get found they are put on eBay and bought for a pittance. The only issue is that you can also get similarly-abused ex-school marching mellophones, including the best-of-the-breed Yamahas, for dirt cheap on eBay. And as much as I love my 16E, my eBay-special Yamaha YMP-201M marching mellophone is a drastically better instrument in every possible way.

All that said, I do think neglected 16Es and other mellophoniums (except for the Reynolds, which is apparently even worse than the 16E) deserve to be played and loved, or at the very least turned into cool lamps, rather than left to rot or get scrapped. If you want an unusual brass instrument for your collection, need a dirt cheap alto brass instrument and find a suitably-priced mellophonium, or just think mellophoniums are cool, I would encourage you to head to eBay and pick one up. It’s also an excellent choice for someone interested in multitracking, as it records well and adds a unique sound to any instrumentation. (It also accepts trombone mutes!) If, however, you want a gig-ready dirt cheap alto brass instrument, wait for a good deal on a Yamaha or King marching mellophone.

Just, whatever you do, don’t overpay for one. Nobody should be paying $500+ for a 16E. They are worth $200 at most…maybe $300 in pristine condition with a Conn 1 and E-flat crook. I’ve been noticing 16E prices steadily increasing in the past couple of years and I feel bad for whoever is spending that kind of money on an instrument as problematic as a 16E. I got mine for $100 and I feel like that was the right price.

Now that all that exposition is out of the way, here are a couple of videos I’ve made that make extensive use of the mellophonium in a 4-person section a la Kenton:

If you’ve made it this far and want to hear more mellophonium, here’s my work-in-progress attempt at a complete list of albums that include mellophonium.

• Stan Kenton - The Romantic Approach (1961)

• Stan Kenton - Kenton’s West Side Story (1961)

• Stan Kenton - A Merry Christmas! (1961)

• Stan Kenton - Sophisticated Approach (1961)

• Stan Kenton - Adventures in Jazz (1961)

• Stan Kenton - Adventures in Blues (1961)

• Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Moods (1962)

• Stan Kenton/Tex Ritter - Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter! (1962)

• Stan Kenton - Adventures in Time (1962)

• Stan Kenton - Artistry in Bossa Nova (1963)

• Lighthouse - Sunny Days (1972)

• Stan Kenton - By Request - Volume VI (1973)

• Stan Kenton - The Uncollected 1962 Vol. 6 (1983)

• Towson State University Jazz Ensemble - Jazz 1985 (1985)

• Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Magic (1989)

• Finn Mickelborg - Mellophonium Jazz (1990)

• The Silencers - Dance to the Holy Man (1991)

• Stan Kenton - More Mellophonium Moods (1995)

• New York Sound Stage One Orchestra/New York Neophonic Orchestra - Alternate Routes (1996) (solos in “Royal Flush” and “Come Rain or Come Shine”)

• Tubby Hayes - Voodoo Session (2009)

• La Orquesta Sinfonietta - Canto América (2016) (2 in “El Caldero de Ogun”)

• Stan Kenton - Mellophonium Memoirs (2017)

• Bootsy Collins - The Power of the One (2020) (1 in “Creepin’”)

• Sammy Haig - Cucumber (2021) (1 in “Basement Famous”)

• Hollywood Film Noirchestra - Dark Passages (2023)