The Brass Junkies: Mary Bowden - Episode 17

Episode 17 of The Brass Junkies features Mary Bowden, an international trumpet soloist and founding member of the Seraph Brass. She discusses her travels around the world, a transformational experience she had with our good friend Jens Lindemann that inspired her to take her career to the next level, and her new brass quintet, Seraph Brass.

She also talks about how she has gone about creating her personal brand through highly produced videos, professional photo shoots, and a great website.

Links:

Mary Bowden
Seraph Brass
Mary's YouTube Channel
Mary's Facebook Fan Page
To Sell Is Human by Daniel H. Pink

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

Jens Lindemann Master Class Quotes from George Mason University (Part 3 of 3)

Here is the final installment of Jens Lindemann quotes from his master class at George Mason last semester for our brass ensemble.  It was a pleasure to have him.  He left the students inspired and in the practice room!

• "When I get to the bottom I think of adding volume of air, not volume of sound.  Keep things set and then apply air."
   
• "When I hear people say 'I'm not really a high note player.  I'm more of a second player and focus on this octave and a half.' I call bullshit."
   
• "We are taught to play low to high from day one.  That's a terrible idea."
   
• "High notes are faster vibrations.  They're not high."
   
• "The faster you think of everything on a horizontal plane including air-wise, the beter off you'll be.  Horizontally away from you, not up."
   
• "By the time you get to college you're not so much learning new things but unlearning old things."
   
• "The instrument is right here (his lips.) (The trumpet) is just an amplifier."
   
• "We're far too dependent when we're young on the tongue to start notes."
   
• "The way to practice using the mid-section of our bodies is breath attacks."
   
• "There's no mystery as to what we're doing here.  It's just plumbing."
   
• "The instrument is not profound.  The body is profound."
   
• "Playing an octave is no big deal.  Then you add a slur and every body freaks out.  That stupid line makes everybody freak out."
   
• "There's no such thing as a slur on a trumpet.  It simply means play from one note to the next without a tongue."
   
• "You can mask a slur by crescendoing slightly on the bottom note."
   
• "I'm a lot more relaxed about mouthpieces now than when I was coming up."
   
• "I'm not a believer in finding the biggest mouthpiece that you can get for your instrument.  And that includes the professionals who are hoisting that upon you.  They are wrong."
   
• "It's important for you to know that you can get things done on mid-sized equipment."

Jens Lindemann Master Class Quotes from George Mason University (Part 2 of 3)

Here is the second installment of quotes from the wonderful clinic that Jens Lindemann gave at George Mason last semester.  So much good stuff in here! Thank you, Jens!

• "There are a handful of musicians in our business that are untouchable.  Like Wynton Marsalis.  He's not a trumpet player.  He's an icon."
   
• "It begins with what I call the Musical Circle of Life.  Top of the circle is Day 1.  6 o'clock is brass purgatory: people who talk about mouthpieces and recordings.  The goal is to get back to the top of the circle.  But you can never get back to Day 1."
   
• "The responsibility is getting enlightened.  And that responsibility is on you, not on me."
   
• "You get me for one hour a week.  When you leave the room, do you think I think about you for one minute afterwards? I serisouly don't.  I have a wife, and a life, and a career.  But you don't think about me either."
   
• "You're the ones who have to be responsible for saying 'I've got to figure this out.'"
   
• "You've got to think outside the box.  You can't just go through a list of books and solos.  That's a meathead approach."
   
• "Playing a brass instrument is ultimately about getting your whole body involved.  To make it as free and easy as possible."
   
• "You know the best players where it just seems so natural? That's because it is."
   
• "Find a way to be in your chair and engaged."
   
• "First thing I would suggest is to strongly discourage sitting on the back of your chair.  When I sit on the front of the chair everything is unlocked.  I'm engaging my entire body."
   
• "Rule #1: View your whole body as a part of the instrument."
   
• "Practice rolling a ball under your foot while you play."
   
• "Keep your mind engaged."
   
• "Technology is one of the great advantages of today."
   
• "The only problem with a problem is potentially realizing it's not a problem."
   
• "You must be inquisitive."
   
• "When I set up an embouchure I try to keep things as set as possible."

Jens Lindemann Master Class Quotes from George Mason University (Part 1 of 3)

Trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann is one of the great players and pedagogues of any instrument in the world today.  He is truly gifted musician and educator and we were honored to have him come to George Mason to give a master class last semester.

Here are some quotes from his class with the brass ensemble.  There were so many good ones I had to split this up into three posts.

Enjoy!

• "The relationships you're forging now are the ones you will have in 15-20 years.  Remember, as you gain in status so do those who are now around you."
   
• "Tchaik 4 with the NY Phil and Zubin Mehta was like opening a cage and tossing raw meat into it."
   
• "This is where your research will help your performance.  If you know the composer is a cinematic composer, you will play it in a cinematic way."
   
• "There's not a trumpet player in the world that I don't have on speed dial.  I'm super famous."
   
• "The greatest of the great players are the ones that say they're going to take this to the next level no matter what it takes."
   
• "You don't have to be superstar players to make a great performance."
   
• "The big thing about chamber music is that you shouldn't play it like you're sitting in the back of the orchestra.  It's harder to play soloisticly in that scenario."
   
• "Traditionally you think about fitting in and keeping the machine going when you win a job."
   
• "They all looked at me and told me 'No no. Don't play it like Freddy played it.  Play it like you play it.'"
   
• "When you obviously have a moving line, like 8th notes in a ballad, move it along."
   
• "Rhythm is a musical term for cooperation."
   
• "The third note of a quarter note triplet is not important.  What's important is the first note and where it's going."
   
• "Are you going to let the trumpets steal your solo line or are you going to Marty-ize it?"
   
• "Not everything has to line up vertically in music.  I used to think it did."
   
• "I used to hear Gene (Watts) talk about 1960's Mozart.  About how the bass and drums didn't line up, about how it was out of tune.  'But it was so right.'"
   
• "The day you start sounding perfect, like a computer, is the day you completely lose what this is about: emotional rub."
   
• "It's not just how you play the downbeat.  It's having direction in the notes leading up to the downbeat."
   
• "There are a handful of musicians in our business that are untouchable.  Like Wynton Marsalis.  He's not a trumpet player.  He's an icon."

Jens Lindemann and The United States Army Band, Pershing's Own: Monday YouTube Fix

I'll never forget meeting Jens Lindemann.  Boston Brass had a few hour layover at LAX the summer of 2001 and Jens and his wife, Jennifer Snow, came to meet us at the LAX Marriott for a quick meal.  All seven of us basically laughed uncontrollably for two hours before we got back on the plane.  Instant friendships were born. Jens had recently retired from the Canadian Brass and taken as the trumpet professor at UCLA, a position he still holds today.  We traded road war stories and vowed to work together as soon as possible.  As chance would have it, both of our trumpet players' wives gave birth to kids within the next two years and Jens filled in each time.

I have also been fortunate to work with him on some other occasions as well, the most notable being in Mexico.  He called me and asked if I wanted to play in a brass sextet with him, Jim Thompson, Fred Mills, Marty Hackleman and Julio Briseno in Texcoco, just east of Mexico City.  I thought he was playing a joke on me! It was one of the highlights of my career.

As you can tell by this clip, Jens is one of the best players in the world.  I have also learned an invaluable amount from him about being a showman.  He is a master as you can see from the beginning of this clip.  Jens is a true inspiration as an entrepreneur and artist.  He is a beast on the trumpet and sounds amazing along with The US Army Band, Pershing's Own from the National Trumpet Competition in 2012.

Enjoy!