Mendez Trivia Question #2

oj · Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:15 am Post subject:

Also according to what I know, Mendez only took two lessons from H. L. Clarke.

The first occured after Rafael's lip injury in 1932. Clarke (the same for Schlossberg, Smith and Maggio who he also contacted) could not help him at that time.

The second time was March 12, 1938, in Long Beach. Mendez played Carnival of Venice for Clarke. This impressed Clarke so much that he said there was nothing he could teach Mendez.

Trpdoc, as you can see from the top of this tread, Mendez saw a snake charmer at a fair in Chicago in 1934. This person used circular breathing (c.b) and that was what got Mendez started doing c.b. on trumpet.

Ole

trpt.hick · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 1:51 am Post subject:

OK, I just spent a whole day with the Mendez family during the Mendez operatta. I asked Robert and Rafael, Jr. if Mendez smoked.

They said "Absolutely not. Not ever. Smoking was very fashionable in the 1950's and he tried one cigerette. After a couple of puffs he became almost ill and NEVER touched a cigarette again."

There you go.

DH

trptdoc · Veteran Member Joined: 01 May 2003 Posts: 246

If Mendez did indeed have obsturctive lung disease(emphysema) and did not smoke, I am very interested to know if there is a connection with long term brass playing and this disease. How many other brass players are known to have developed this problem? Both Mendez and Gordon were known to practice 6 or more hours per day for years and they both developed it I used to hear Claude wheeze when we played.

The studies we did in the 80's indicated that professional brass players all had abnormal results on routine pulmonary function testing. We felt it was because they were able to blow a significantly larger amount of the reserve volume out than were the age matched controls. After deep exhalation the calculated residual volume(amount of air remaining in the lungs) was significantly smaller in brass players.

Ole, your information is instructive, as Claude always intimated that Mendez studied a significant time with Clark.

trpt.hick · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:36 pm Post subject:

Mendez did not have emphysema. He died of an asthmatic attact due to brochitis. He woke up in the middle of the night, found it difficult to breathe and then took a hit from his bird inhaler. As you now, the inhaler will cause the congestion to temporarily worsen for a short while. When this happened, he paniced and took more puffs. Before the medicine could clear his congestion, his heart went into cardiac arrest.

trptdoc · Veteran Member Joined: 01 May 2003 Posts: 246

Thanks for the information on Mr. Mendez'z death. Interestingly, patients with chronic bronchitis and asthma ususally have emphysema by default. It all leads to obstuction of the airways which by definition is emphysema. If he had a Bird Respiratory at his home he must have had chronic problems with his breathing. The bronchial dialator used in the respirator is closely related to adrenaline and can cause fatal arrythmias of the heart ie: Venticular Fibrilation, especially if he made several "hits" on the machine. With the early bronchodialators this happened a lot.

I'm still wondering if years of brass playing causes an increased incidence of bronchiopulmonary problems.

Brian Moon · Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:45 pm Post subject:

Emil Gowatch, his good friend from his Detroit years, told me that Mendez did smoke. Very confusing.
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