When Sam Pilafian was 11, he was told that if he switched from the accordion to the tuba, he would always have friends. When he passed away on April 5 from colon cancer at the age of 69, The New York Times described him as “a virtuoso tuba player who performed an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, pop and rock music and brought unflagging exuberance to teaching young tubists.”
I met Sam a dozen or so years ago when he brought a Dixieland band made up of Arizona State University students—with Sam on tuba—to one of our jazz society sessions. His accomplishments throughout his career ranged from the ultimate to the sublime.
He was invited by Leonard Bernstein to perform on-stage in the world premiere of Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1971.
A natural entertainer, he was once nicknamed “the Evel Knievel of the Tuba” for playing “The Clarinet Polka” while standing on his head. He also tried teaching the tuba to Fred Rogers on an episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood in 1985. “You have to blow through buzzing lips,” Sam told Rogers, who responded, “Your lips tickle.”
As one of his contemporaries said, “He could do everything—play all kinds of music
