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A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.
Filtering by Category: Trumpet
I get asked by people a lot for my definition of swing. It is an incredibly difficult thing to succinctly put into words.
But Mark Gould does just that (with a little bit of singing thrown in) in just two minutes.
I have already played this clip for a number of my students in lessons. Because all music needs to swing.
You can hear the entire interview here.
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TBJ106: Jim Pandolfi legendary trumpeter Jim Pandolfi has one of the most amazing stories in music. Or most places.
Jim Pandolfi is a legend! Just an unbelievable story of triumph and kicking all available ass. Jim is legally blind and asked the Metropolitan Opera to not hold that against him. They gave him a fair shot and the rest is history.
Jim and I used to hang out way too much in New York City back in the day and never did anything productive. We take a trip down memory lane and also take a deep dive on brass pedagogy. Really good stuff!
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TBJ103: Mary Bowden on her new upcoming album, Seraph Brass and the importance of networking
My soon-t0-be colleague at Shenandoah Conservatory joined us for her second appearance on The Brass Junkies. Mary is awesome. We could talk to her for hours.
You can check out the complete show notes including all links mentioned during TBJ103 over at Pedal Note Media.
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TBJ89: David Gordon of the Seattle Symphony on Boston, Mahler and giving it your all
Principal Trumpet of the Seattle Symphony, David Gordon, and I go back close to 30 years to youth orchestra. He is a monster musician and a hell of a nice guy. It was so much fun catching up with him!
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TBJ88: St. Louis Symphony trumpeter Jeff Strong on preparation, playing with the Marine Band and having an air blowing epiphany
I've had the privilege of playing a number of gigs with Jeff and he is one of the most effortless and musical trumpet players I've ever played with. Just incredible.
At one point in this interview I thought he was going to break me I was laughing so hard!
Don't miss this one!
You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.
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What an incredibly inspiring story Chip has! Talk about stepping up when facing some unspeakable adversity. This is one of the most uplifting and motivational episodes thanks to Chip being so open about his fight against Bells Palsy.
If I ever have to face something like that, I hope I have half the grace and courage that Chip has shown the world. We were honored to have him join us.
From the show notes:
TBJ78: Chip Crotts on playing trumpet with Ray Charles, prosthetic robot arms for musicians and his comeback from Bells Palsy
Chip Crotts has played trumpet with an incredible array of stars, from Natalie Cole to Maynard Ferguson and has been involved with building an innovative program from the ground up at Georgia Tech.
In this episode, we cover:
- The integration of music and technology at Georgia Tech
- Building the undergraduate degree from the ground up
- The development of a prosthetic robotic hand and arm to allow folks to play piano of drums
- Playing with Ray Charles and Maynard Ferguson (and an amazing array of other artists)
- “You never know when your shot’s gonna come, so you have to be ready”
- Natalie Cole, the Tuscaloosa Horns (T-Horns)
- Lance’s water pipes freezing and bursting mid-show, FUN!
- Working with Santa Clara Vanguard
- Dealing with Bells Palsy which paralyzed the left side of his face, and his documentation of the recovery process on video at his Facebook page
You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.
Everything about this performance is stunning.
Brandon Ridenour's pic playing. His father's piano playing. The arrangement. The communication between the two of them. Everything.
And yet at the time of this post, 72 different people decided they disliked this video so much that they had to publicly state that by down voting it on YouTube.
I completely understand not being a fan of arrangements in general. (I couldn't disagree more with that stance from a personal taste standpoint, but you could of course make that argument in an intelligent fasion.) You can easily not be a fan of their interpretation of the piece (or literally anyone's interpretation of any given piece.)
But to actually feel the need, on a video posted personally by Brandon, to give this a public thumbs down is really baffling to me.
The reason I'm pointing this out is a reminder to us all that if you put your work out into the world, there will be people who don't like it and feel the need to share that opinion with the world.
So don't fall into the trap of having your eyeballs (and heart!) go straight to that huge number 72 next to the thumbs down before noticing the 6,000 thumbs up votes or 300,000+ views. The only way to not have any down votes is to never share it with the world. And who the hell wins then? Literally no one. You don't make the world a better place by not sharing your art with us and the internet trolls will just find another video to give a thumbs down to.
It also bears remembering who is doing the down voting. Do you think that Jose Sibaja, Jens Lindemann or Ryan Anthony are any of the 72 down votes? Hell no they're not. Anyone who can play at this level is too damn busy making art to be taking swipes at people who not only are making it but have the courage to share it with the world.
So screw the haters, ignore the thumbs down count and push on. And you damn well better share your work with the world. We need it now more than ever.
#endrant
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All joking aside, is there anyone crazier than lead trumpet players? We got to speak to one of the best in the world in Steve Reid and talked to us about among other things about lead trumpet players shaving their teeth! No, for real. They are all nuts.
Great, fun interview with Steve who has played with just about everybody!
From the show notes:
Maynard Ferguson and Duke Ellington band lead trumpet player Steve Reid, joins Andrew & Lance about life as a lead player and diagnosing chop issues. Andrew & Lance were shocked to find a lead trumpet player who defies all the usual stereotypes. Until we heard about his Corvette. Anyway, Steve is a great player, funny guy and has played with an amazing array of some of the best bands in the world. He shares stories about learning from Rich Matteson, playing chess with Mercer Ellington, and hanging with Brian Setzer. Additionally, he talks about his thoughts on chop issues and how dental structure plays into things.
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Words fail me when trying to describe this man. Ryan Anthony is without question one of the most inspirational people I have ever had the privilege of interacting with in my lifetime. And no that is not hyperbole.
You must listen to this episode. It will change you as a human being. His bravery and positivity in the face of incomprehensible adversity is nothing short of inspirational. Thank you, Ryan, for making the world a better place.
