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Mario Guarneri

Mario Guarneri has done everything from sitting in with Louis Armstrong at the age of thirteen to performing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic for fifteen seasons under conductors Zubin Mehta and Carlo Maria Giulini. He was principal trumpet for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for a decade, toured Europe with the Los Angeles Brass Quintet. 

In addition to his solo albums on the Crystal and Nonesuch labels, one of which was nominated for the Prix de Rome, Mario has played on hundreds of television and motion picture soundtracks, and was a featured soloist for movies like Lonesome Dove and Godfather III.

Mario has taught trumpet for more than fifty years, including master classes in Asia and Europe. He is currently a trumpet instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory and has recently also been appointed to the SFCM jazz faculty. He performs and records regularly with his jazz quartet in the San Francisco area, and has established a worldwide reputation as a creative musician of the highest level.

In 1986, he developed the Buzz Extension and Resistance Piece (B.E.R.P.) for all brass instruments. The BERP turned out to be a dynamic advancement in brass pedagogy. Since then, Mario’s lectured extensively on the BERP concept at music conventions across the country

In 2013 he founded a non-profit, Jazz in the Neighborhood which seeks to sustain the art form, establish equity for local jazz artists and provide access for young artists and jazz supporters of all ages.

In 2021 Mario co-founded INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS ALLIANCE (IMA) which seeks to help musicians collaborate and improvise to help them gain a rational and solid economic footing in an uncertain world.

Mario has been on MUSICIANS FOR MUSICIANS - MFM’s Board since 2020.

 


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Album Review

Clairdee: A Love Letter To Lena

Read "A Love Letter To Lena" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Revered decades after her passing, Lena Horne has remained an icon in the realms of music, stage & screen, and civil rights activism. With A Love Letter to Lena, San Francisco-based vocalist Clairdee assumes the task of saluting Horne by way of selections from Billy Strayhorn and other great American composers. And the inclusion of narration and quotes from Horne adds a special perspective and further poignancy to this fine musical effort. “Old Devil Moon," originally recorded ...

2
Album Review

Clairdee: A Love Letter To Lena

Read "A Love Letter To Lena" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


A fixture on the Bay Area jazz scene, Clairdee has established herself as a self-assured singer and an artist who's never content in repeating an idea. Her first three albums move from the studio to the holidays to the stage, demonstrating a high level of comfort in disparate settings and seasons. This fourth project—a tribute to Lena Horne, realized after a decade of thought on the matter—will likely extend that reputation while marking her as a strong conceptualist.

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