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George Carr
Since: 2007 | Position: Contributor | Location: Cleveland | Page Views: 6,698About Me
Cleveland trombonist & writer
I currently play jazz trombone in several Cleveland big bands, notably those of Ernie Krivda and Dave Banks. I was classically trained, and still play orchestra and pit orchestra jobs when possible. I also serve on the Board and Executive Committee of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
Articles
Photos
Favorite Musicians / Bands
My Jazz Story
I first got into jazz music as a performer. As a high school student in the '80s, I was a talented trombone player, performing with the Columbus (Ohio)
Symphony Youth Orchestra, and other educational ensembles. But my high school band director, Paul Parks, was a trumpet player who couldn't say
enough good things about his heroes, which were mostly high-note trumpeters like Bill Chase, Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and that sort. I
enjoyed listening to those guys, but I soon found myself annoyed by their pop-music aspirations, especially after I discovered Wynton Marsalis and his
attitude toward jazz as a repertory art form that doesn't need "updating" to be great music. I joined my high school "stage band" and started playing
swing music, which immediately grabbed me as both a performer and a listener. I started searching out the more jazz-oriented recordings from the
trumpet masters; as an example, I lost interest in Maynard's "Primal Scream" and went hunting for his "Birdland Dream Band" records instead. And the
'80s were an amazing era for big-band music: soon I was buying CDs as concert merch from working jazz bands, like the touring "ghost" bands of Count
Basie and Woody Herman, and through mail-order from bands with even less commercial appeal, like Frank Mantooth and Tom Kubis.
By the end of high-school, I was a full-fledged jazz nut, and I performed with local jazz bands led by Rick Brunetto and Vaughan Wiester during my
senior year. I was recruited into the musicians' union by master trombonist (and head of the musicians' local) Tommy Dale, and spent my college years
studying and playing the trombone--earning a Bachelor of Music degree--and gigging with jazz bands around central Ohio. The rest is history: I've been
playing jazz trombone for 30+ years now, and have shared the stage with many great players, including old-school masters like Phil Woods, Conte
Candoli, and Terry Gibbs.
My House Concert Story
Favorite Places to See Jazz
Contests
Surveys
Theme Song
Playlist
This page was last updated on 2024-01-30.
