Results for "Trumpet"

Don Goldie

Born: February 5, 1930

Dizzy Gillespie

Born: October 21, 1917

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, along with Charlie Parker, ushered in the era of Be-Bop in the American jazz tradition. He was born Cheraw, South Carolina, and was the youngest of nine children. He began playing piano at the age of four and received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Most noted for his trademark "swollen cheeks", Gillespie admitted to copying the style of trumpeter Roy Eldridge early in his career.

He replaced Eldridge in the 'Teddy Hill' Band after Eldridge's departure. He eventually began experimenting and creating his own style which would eventually come to the attention of Mario Bauza, the Godfather of Afro-Cuban jazz who was then a member of the Cap Calloway Orchestra, joining Calloway in 1939, Gillespie was fired after two years when he cut a portion of the Calloway's buttocks with a knife after Calloway accused him of throwing spitballs (the two men later became lifelong friends and often retold this story with great relish until both of their deaths).

Eddie Gale

Born: August 15, 1941

EDDIE GALE was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1941 where he recalls listening to gospel and blues with his family at an early age. As he remembers, "This was the beginning of my music career. I often participated in neighborhood singing groups where I developed a fondness for vocal ensembles." GALE joined the marching band of the local scouting troop. There he learned to play the horn and marched in parades for many years. His early jazz education included trumpet lessons from the great KENNY DORHAM and others as well as serious woodshedding. There were many after-hour jam sessions where he had the opportunity to sit in with such musicians as Cedar Walton, Wilbur Ware, Art Taylor, Art Blakely, Max Roach, Jackie Maclean, Illinois Jacquet, Sonny Stitt, Cecil Payne, Matthew G, Scoby Stroman, Wynton Kelly, Randy Weston, Willie Jones And Pianist Errol Clark (who knew GALE from the BOY SCOUTS marching band)

Rebecca Coupe Franks

Born: November 27, 1961

Rebecca Coupe Franks is a talented trumpet player from California who has paid her dues in New York. She has worked with her friend and mentor, the late Joe Henderson, as well as Javon Jackson, Ben Riley, Herb Ellis, and Bill Cosby. Her 2004 recording, "Exhibition: Tribute to Joe Henderson," is a showcase of ten original tunes she penned in remembrance of saxophonist Henderson's spirit, personality, and music. Jazz journalist Scott Yanow has stated, "Joe Henderson would have enjoyed hearing this program and would have loved playing these pieces." Rebecca Coupe Franks' trumpet style can most be likened to that of Chet Baker, as she plays with a relatively sparse, relaxed style, and she favors playing in the middle and lower registers of her instrument

Maynard Ferguson

Born: May 4, 1928

Walter "Maynard" Ferguson was a Canadian-born jazz trumpet player and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957. He was noted for being able to play accurately in a remarkably high register, and for his bands, which served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent.

Early life and education
Ferguson was born in Verdun, Quebec (now part of Montreal). Encouraged by his mother and father (both musicians), Maynard was playing piano and violin by the age of four. At nine years old, he heard a cornet for the first time in his local church and asked his parents to purchase him one. At age 13, Ferguson first soloed as a child prodigy with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra and was heard frequently on the CBC, notably featured on a Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz written for him by Morris Davis. Ferguson won a scholarship to the French Conservatory of Music where he studied from 1943 through 1948 with Bernard Baker.

Jon Faddis

Born: July 24, 1953

Born in Oakland, CA, on July 24, 1953, Jon Faddis began playing trumpet at age eight, inspired by an appearance of Louis Armstrong on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Three years later, his trumpet teacher Bill Catalano, an alumnus of the Stan Kenton band, turned the jazz- struck youngster on to Dizzy Gillespie. By his mid-teens, Jon had not only met Dizzy, he'd even sat in with his hero's combo at the famed Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. Upon graduating high school in 1971, Jon joined Lionel Hampton's band as a featured soloist and moved to New York. That same year, responding to an invitation from Mel Lewis to drop by the Village Vanguard whenever he got to New York, Jon sat in with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band on one of their regular Monday night sessions

Ziggy Elman

Born: May 26, 1914

Harry Aaron Finkelman, better known by the stage name Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his own Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but his family settled in Atlantic City when he was four. His father was a violinist who had hoped Harry would play violin as well. Although he did learn to play the violin, Harry preferred the brass instruments. He began playing for Jewish weddings and nightclubs at age 15, and in 1932 made his first recording where he played trombone. At some point in the decade he adopted the name Ziggy Elman

Don Ellis

Born: July 25, 1934

Before his untimely death in 1978 at the young age of 44, Don Ellis was one of the most creative and innovative jazz musicians of all time. In a career span of less than 25 years, Don Ellis distinguished himself as a trumpeter, drummer, composer, arranger, recording artist, author, music critic, and music educator. However, Don Ellis is probably best remembered for his work as a big band leader. His orchestra, which was active from 1966-78, achieved enormous popular appeal at a time when the influence of big band music was noticeably fading. Ellis's significance lies in his use of groundbreaking musical techniques and devices, new to the world of jazz

Mercer Ellington

Born: March 11, 1919

Mercer Ellington was born in Washington, D.C., the only child of Duke and Edna Ellington. He received formal music training and eventually led his own band as a trumpet player. Joining his father in Los Angeles in 1940 he began a period of study with the Duke Ellington Orchestra that lasted until he went into the service; this would be Mercer’s most productive period with regard to jazz standards. In Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate Memoir, Mercer states, "There is nothing like practical experience, and when the band played arrangements I had written under [Duke’s] supervision, like “Moon Mist,” “Blue Serge,” “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be,” and “The Girl in My Dreams,” it was as instructive as gratifying." Mercer participated in the Duke Ellington Orchestra, at times in an administrative capacity, and then as band member in the 50’s and 60’s

Roy Eldridge

Born: January 30, 1911

Roy David Eldridge was a jazz trumpet player in the Swing era. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, resulted in him sometimes being seen as the link between Louis Armstrong-era swing music and Dizzy Gillespie-era bebop. Roy's rhythmic power to swing a band was a dynamic tradmark of the Swing Era. Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His nickname was Little Jazz. Eldridge played in the bands of Fletcher Henderson, Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw before making records under his own name. He also played in Benny Goodman's and Count Basie's Orchestras, and co-led a band with Coleman Hawkins. Also known as “Little Jazz” Roy Eldridge was a fiery, energetic trumpeter who although short in stature was a larger-than-life figure in the jazz trumpet lineage. Stylistically speaking he was the bridge between the towering trumpet stylists Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie