Andrix – Miniatures

Title Miniatures for solo trumpet (©1977) by George Andrix published by SeeSaw Music Corp. – which is now Subito Music Biographical Info George Andrix was born June 15, 1932. He began the study of the violin at the age of five (5) in his native Chicago. As a youngster, he attended the Chicago Musical College and Lane Technical High School where he received training in violin, music theory, and…

More reasons to clean your horn

My good friend Lauren Bernofsky (the composer whose works I love and have reviewed here on All Things Trumpet) passed this article on to me.  I have a post dedicated to cleaning your horn and personally find this stuff very important.  I’m very glad to have gotten this article because it just supports my cause.  I hope you enjoy it.  Well, “enjoy” probably isn’t the right word…  Read and heed.……

Michael Sachs on warming up

While living in the Cleveland-area during my Master’s studies, I had the great fortune of studying with two masters of orchestral trumpet; the great Bernard Adelstein at the end of his career with the Cleveland Orchestra and the dynamic Michael Sachs at the beginning of his.  Talk about a source of first-hand knowledge and experience; “Bernie” played professionally in orchestras for over 40…

Henderson – Variation Movements

Title Variation Movements for Trumpet (1967)by Robert Henderson Biographical Info Robert Henderson's remarkably productive career began before he reached college age and has expanded without pause since then. He was three years old when his father gave him his first violin lessons. When he reached his teens he added piano and horn to the instruments he played, and began studying composition…

Rabe – Shazam

Title Shazam for trumpet solo (1984) By Folke Rabe Biographical Info Folke Rabe born 1935: ‘A portrait of Folke Rabe,’ as Goran Bergendal has wittily observed, ‘would be made up of one composer (or two or even three), a couple of trombone players (jazz trombone and member of the Culture Quartet), one actor (the New Culture Quartet), one teacher (the Sound Workshops, which helped people to…

Maintain your Warm-up mode

I had a student the other day that was having difficulty playing without tension and was really “attacking” the notes - not playing the music, thus getting all tight, thus missing more, thus getting more tense…  We talked a minute about what could be causing him to be having such an off playing day and decided that while he warmed up at home before his lesson, he jumped right into playing when he…

A Music Student’s Top Ten List

Someone showed a list similar to this to me a while back and I apologize for not currently being able to give proper credit to the original author.  I have edited and paraphrased a few things in my list but primarily the credit for this Prep List goes to someone else out there in the music world.  (If anyone knows this source please leave that info in a comment below.) The ideas below are…

Harrell – Interview #2

A fellow Tom Harrell fan, great trumpet player and friend Jamie Beiwick shared this interview clip on his facebook page.  Tom is not only one of the greatest jazz trumpet players of all time (imho) but also a very deep thinking, spiritually sensitive person.  This is a great interview clip mixing commentary with playing.  I am especially blown away by Tom’s solo on Green Dolphin Street.  (about…

Fasch – Concerto

Title Concerto for Trumpet and OrchestraJohann Friedrich Fasch, 1688-1758Scored for 2 oboes, solo trumpet, strings, and continuo Biographical Info Johann Friedrich Fasch is an example of that all-too-common phenomenon in music, the forgotten innovator. A contemporary of Bach (1685-1750), Fasch was a prolific Baroque composer, writing among other things over 90 suites, 16 masses, 4 operas, 61…

Tom Harrell – Interview #1

Tom Harrell has been one of my musical heroes for many years.  In fact, I would say his playing and composition have had the most profound impact of all my jazz influences.  I have done many transcriptions of Tom’s solos and in doing so have developed an even greater appreciation for his musicianship.  His lines are often un-idiomatic, meaning they don’t lay naturally for the trumpet.  It is as…