October 09, 2006

Two Great Bands

Two fantastic big bands have recently come to our attention. Every student trumpet player should listen to these bands with their amazing horn sections.

The first is Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. The Big Phat Band is an amzaing collection of Los Angeles studio Musicians that take Goodwin's songs and bring them to life with incredible energy and precision. Wayne Bergeron leads the trumpet section.

Another terrific band is The Ed Palermo Big Band. Palermo has taken many original Frank Zappa tunes and made new arrangements of them for his big band.

Check out both of these great bands!

Posted by Damian at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2005

Allen Vizzutti Article

The International Trumpet Guild has published a wonderful article by the accomplished soloist, composer, and session player, Allen Vizzutti. In his masterclass article he discusses his experience recording a soundtrack for an upcoming Sony Playstation Game.

He goes on to discuss video games, trumpet practice and how difficult it is for today's student trumpet players to turn off the electronics and pick up their horns.

Posted by Damian at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2005

Solo Transcriptions

Here is a site that I think many student trumpet players will enjoy. It features transcriptions of many trumpet solos by famous players. It's a really fun site in that when you click on a solo, you not only hear it, but watch the music scroll by as it is played. You can then download the transcriptions if you like. There are lots of great artists there like Arturo Sandoval, Terell Stafford, Roy Hargrove and many more.

Posted by Damian at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2005

Chris Botti Interview

I just came across a very good video interview with Pro trumpet player Chris Botti. In the interview he discusses beginning trumpet playing, what got him into it, and how playing helps teach kids discipline.

Posted by Damian at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2005

Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" Music

I heard an interesting interview with composer and trumpeter Jon Hassell the other day on NPR in which he describes his innovative style which he calls "Fourth World" music. It's some very different trumpet music, but worth a listen.

Posted by Damian at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2005

Playing Taps

If you have ever been called upon to play Taps at a military funeral, you know how nerve-wracking it can be. Having done that a number of times myself, I can't imagine what it must have been like to play for former President Ronald Reagan's funeral. US Army Sergeant Major Woody English did just that. He discusses that experience as well as the development of the "digital bugle" in an interview on National Public Radio.

Posted by Damian at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

Great photography of trumpet legends

I recently came across some great photography of famous trumpet players and other jazz musicians. A Jazz club in Seattle called Dimitriou's Jazz Alley features the work of photographer Ron Hudson on their website. It's really great stuff. Seems like every trumpet student should have a couple of these images on their wall for inspiration!

Posted by Damian at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2005

Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band

I saw Maynard Ferguson and his band perform recently. It is great to see that he is still out there giving it his best. He is obviously moving on in years and not playing a whole lot while on stage. His lead trumpet player,Patrick Hession, more than fills in however. Maynard and the band tour extensively, often conducting master classes at schools in the afternoon before giving their evening concerts. Check out their schedule to see if they are coming to your area.

Posted by Damian at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)