Specifically of the tuba, I can't help you, but this phrase has been used in Jazz circles of the fluegelhorn, clarinet, saxophone (particularly the soprano) and cornet, and probably of any other wind instrument too, for years, and has been claimed by a number of people. It has a Groucho Marxish feel about it, but I fear its true origins are lost in the mists of time.
Doesn't help with your quiz answer, I'm afraid - depends on the sources used by the quiz-setter........