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C Trumpet Comparison: Bach’s Cleveland vs. Chicago
Perhaps it's the time of year with ITG around the corner that gets me thinking about comparing equipment and/or general nerding out on trumpet...And, while this years' ITG has great content and I'm really looking forward to it, I will miss the exhibits and ability to try horns, mutes, mouthpieces... I have decided to downsize my trumpet collection and sell my WONDERFUL AR Resonance Classica C trumpet. (That can be found and bought at ThompsonMusic.com) However, I still need to have a C…
Your Host
David Cooper is the host and author of All Things Trumpet; the blog for research, education and reviews of musical issues pertaining to the trumpet.
UW-Platteville Director of Jazz Studies – Trumpet
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Conn-Selmer Artist
Carnival of Venice
One of the most enjoyable things I get to do as a musician is perform with the Isthmus Brass. It consists of ten brass players from around Wisconsin, founded by Mike Forbes and directed by John Stevens. (We have a CD out that can be found on the…
A review of “Petite Monde”
Recently, I decided to reprint my first solo jazz CD. My daughter Skye, redid the layout and packaging giving it a much needed fresh look. I also came across a Wisconsin State Journal review of that CD. Lots have changed since then as 2003 was a…
A review of “The Journey”
Hi Everyone, A little while ago a writer-friend Kevin Lynch, did a review/article about my jazz CD "The Journey". The Journey: A Deathly Odyssey Teaches David Cooper about Music and Life. For virtuoso trumpeter David Cooper, the horn of plenty…
InDIGenous Jazz Series Concert
Hello Friends, I hope that you all know that I rarely promote musical events with which I am involved. However, I would like to make an exception and let you know about a very special concert for me on October 9, at 7:30pm at the newly renovated…
Dana Wilson – “I Remember…”
Title I Remember… (1998) Dana Wilson Biographical Info The works of Dana Wilson have been commissioned and performed by such diverse ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Formosa String Quartet, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings,…
New Jazz CD – The Journey
Hi everyone, I am very happy to announce the release of my new jazz CD, "The Journey". I recorded this with my good friends, Johannes Wallmann, Mark Urness and Ernie Adams this summer (2014). I was diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier and…
The Jam Session – Madison Style
I was a member of a jazz group called "The New Breed Quintet" for about four years. "New Breed" was the house band for a jam session that happened every Wednesday night for over a decade. There was a time when the group needed to find a new venue…
Stephenson – Concerto for Trumpet, no. 1
Title Concerto for Trumpet, no. 1 (2003) For trumpet and orchestra, or wind ensemble, or piano reduction By James Stephenson Biographical Info The Concerto for Trumpet, James Stephenson’s second major work written for the trumpet, is a product of a…
The “other” Stevens Trumpet Sonata
Title Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (2008) By John Stevens Biographical Info John Stevens was born in Buffalo, New York (USA) in 1951. He holds degrees in Music Performance (tuba) from the Eastman School of Music (1973) and Yale University (1975).…
Bradshaw Trumpet Sonata
Title Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (2003) Robert Bradshaw (1970 - ) Biographical Info Focused on producing socially relevant art, Robert J. Bradshaw's music is inspired by historical events and influenced by his multi-cultural family. His…
Marvin Stamm
Like most of us, it seems like I have heard the name Marvin Stamm for as long as I've played trumpet. I'd heard about the Kenton years and the fantastic recording years and had seen his name advertised at ITG conferences for years. So, at the…
Clifton Williams – Dramatic Essay
Title Dramatic Essay (1958) For Trumpet and Band (Wind Ensemble) By Clifton Williams Biographical Info James Clifton Williams Jr. (1923– 12 February 1976) was born in Traskwood, Arkansas. He began playing French horn, piano, and mellophone early on…
More on Mouthpieces
I wrote a post on a mouthpiece experiment back in 2011. It's now 2014, summer just finished, and I'd like to follow up on that article. I was surprised by how much attention that particular post got among trumpet players. I guess a bunch of us…
Site Update News
For those of you that frequent this site, you are obviously aware it has recently undergone a complete makeover. My web designer does a fantastic job and if anyone is interested in hiring him, please contact me and I'll put you in touch. Aside from…
What Trumpet Do You Play? Part 2
Well, here I am about to sound like a real "waffler" and contradict a previous post of mine titled "What Trumpet Do You Play?" In that post I said that I have owned many brands of trumpet throughout my career. In each horn, at that time, I truly…
The Greatest Trumpet Cases, Part 2
It's been four years since I wrote my post "The Greatest Trumpet Cases In The World". Any self respecting trumpet geek like myself would of course have added equipment to his arsenal in that amount of time, and so I have. A couple years ago I had…
Thank you, Fred.
I wrote a post a while back called "A Musical Remembrance", where I talked about a couple key musical moments that happened in my life that were profound for me. A similar topic I would like to share with you is that of memorable mentors. I have…
Scrapple From The Apple
Scrapple From The Apple was written by the great Charlie "Bird" Parker in either 1946 or 47. It is considered one of the classic tunes in the BeBop repertoire. It is a 32 bar form that is AABA. Like many BeBop compositions, the chord structure is…
Maiden Voyage
Maiden Voyage Recorded in 1965, Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” was a revolutionary tune because it consisted almost entirely of sus chords. Studying “Maiden Voyage” is basically learning what options one can play on suspended chords. Sus…
Tune-Up
Miles Davis' Tune-Up is considered a jazz standard and is a great vehicle for working on a very important and common chord progression found in many jazz compositions. This progression is known as the ii-V-I (two-five-one). There have been many,…
Madison Jazz Jam 2
I am thrilled to host the Madison jazz Jam again this coming Sunday. This week the featured tune is the standard, "There Will Never Be Another You" by Warren and Gordon. From an improvisation standpoint the tune has many opportunities to work our…
Madison Jazz Jam
Hi everyone that attended last Sunday’s jam session. I had a great time and am thrilled to be asked to be a part of it. What a great space, too! The Fountain certainly seems to be the new place to hear and play jazz in Madison. Finally!! Next…
ITG Conference 2012
ITG Conference – 2012 This year’s conference was held in Columbus, GA at Georgia State University. The facilities were gorgeous as the school has recently had a fantastic center for the arts built. The Schwob school of music is connected to a new…
Doc DeHaven
Doster (Doc) DeHaven Doc was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1931 and is still living in Madison today, although, sadly he is no longer playing trumpet. As a musician in the Madison area, I have rarely – if ever – run into another musician who has…
Beijing – Day 7
Today was my last day in China. The other guest artists were on very early flights and mine did not leave till 5:30pm so I had the day to myself. I basically retraced the steps of my first day here a week ago. It was interesting how much more…
Beijing – Day 6
Today one of CCOM tuba students’ took Marty Erickson and me to the Great Wall. It was a wonderful experience even though the sky was very foggy. There are many points that tourists can enter the Wall and the one we took was supposedly the most…
Beijing – Day 5
This afternoon I gave a four-hour master class to the CCOM middle school trumpet students. There were about 15 students around the age of 14-18. First we went through some warm-up concepts together as a class. Then I talked about putting music…
Beijing – Day 4
After a morning of practicing, our host, Fan Lei treated us all to another amazing lunch. I had turtle, venison, goose, manta ray and an amazing ginseng soup! He has assigned three of his students to chaperone the four guests around throughout the…
Beijing – Day 3
Today was the day of my solo recital. I had a dress rehearsal followed by lunch at a local hotspot. After that some much needed downtime till the concert. The first portion of the program was by tuba great, Marty Erickson. He plays with amazing…
Beijing – Day 2
The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing has about 1000 university-age university music students and another 1000 high school-age students. They call them middle school students. There are two large buildings that house the students, rehearsal…