Tom Harrell - One of the greats!

Are you a trumpet player?  Then you need to give this a listen.  Mr. Harrell has an interesting story.
 

"...lets see what we can do here."

Ingrid Jensen is a trumpeter you should check out.  As a musician, she lives in the moment and interacts with what she hears, which is what you should strive to do.  She also has a pleasant, down to earth attitude.  Let her show you the way.

The Economy...of notes

This is what beautiful music is all about. Listen to Chet Baker sing (self taught), then listen to Chet play (mostly self taught) and then ask yourself how did he do that?
I'll give you the answer..........wait for it...........wait for it...(put a biscuit on your nose and salivate just staring at it's yumminess, it's more fun that way)...he's a great listener. He's using and trusting his ears! AND...it turns out you have a set of your own. Good job...eat your biscuit. Now start listening to yourself when you play, and create something cool.

Freddie Hubbard!

If you've never checked out Freddie Hubbard before, or if you're looking to buy your first jazz album (and the store is out of Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue,") you should go pick up Oliver Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth." On it you'll hear Freddie Hubbard, the 24 year old trumpeter in this clip, tearing up some blues based modal tunes. It's a classic album, but so are all of Freddie's albums. What I (your favorite blog) love about Freddie is the element of surprise that he brings to every solo. He is constantly challenging the listener- playing fiery, tight and intense one moment, laid back and free the next. He always keeps you wondering...what is he going to do next? Hey, what are you going to do next? Let's have a sandwich.

A super clip for Trumpeters with writers block...

The Pencil Exercise
You're in AP English, staring down at the blank sheet of paper in front of you. Time is slipping through your hands, your mind drifts...Wait! Quick! Stick your pencil in your mouth Jack Kerouac! If your trumpet playing doesn't improve, your kissing might, and just in time for Valentine's Day. Special thanks to trumpeter, teacher and composer Mr. Torrente for this, and the previous two clips.

"I would like to hit the number"

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong is singing and playing trumpet in this video. He founded the style of singing commonly known as "scat" in which a vocalist solos using nonsense words, syllables or at times both. As with all of the musicians in this blog, he is considered one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 20th century. Dig if you will, the clarinet solo. While this tune is performed with a "dixieland" feel, you can hear the shift into more modern jazz in both notes and rhythms.