4 Jazz fans: Who is your preferred trumpet player?

[willryu]

Dave Douglas.

-willryu

[Gabrielshorn]

My favorite topic!

I would agree with the list so far as it stands, though the one guy I haven't heard of is Dave Douglas. Who and where is he?

I think Clifford Brown was amazing. A shame he died so young. No one mentioned Louis Armstrong yet. Also, Bix Beiderbeck and King Oliver are both phenomenal. The recording quality on their discs is horrible due to age.

Some local, living players: If ever in NY, go and hear Brian Lynch. Great player and arranger who used to play with Art Blakey. And Brad Goode used to play all over Chicago. I think he now has a University teaching job somewhere, though I'm sure he still plays prodigiously somewhere. He was also outstanding. I believe both of these players have albums available - I know Brian Lynch does.

I personally have been on a Maynard Ferguson kick for a while now. I'm also a huge Miles fan, though I don't care for his later "fusion" work. I do like Gerard Presencer's playing on Linn Records. Clark Terry is another great one.

I know most Jazz devotees downplay Wynton Marsalis, but I think he is fabulous. I also get flamed all the time for saying this. If he is not one of the greatest Jazz players currently working (he is), he definitely has more technical chops than any jazz player ever. All that and an incredibly musical approach to the instrument make him one of the greatest ever in either jazz or classical. He makes everything he does sound great and look easy.

Anyone want to discuss Classical trumpet players now?


BTW, I am a trumpet player too.

[Gabrielshorn]

In the "run and hide" department, I think Tiger Okoshi is a great player but he makes my ears bleed! He has the most unusual, "sizzling bacon" trumpet sound I think I have ever encountered. I just can't stand to listen to it. Although, I have only heard one album of his; an XRCD of him in his quintet I think.

[willryu]

though the one guy I haven't heard of is Dave Douglas. Who and where is he?

http://www.davedouglas.com

3 years running as the Downbeat's Critic Poll's selection as best Trumpet player. (for whatever that is worth)

Check out Soul to Soul or his new one, the Infinite.

-willryu

[dice45]

All,
thanx for the input so far! learned some names
And finally the names are dropping in which should have popped up from the start. Me greeeet Bix and Brownie fan!
And, noone mentioned Don Ellis and Don Cherry so far! A shame! ...

Gabrielshorn,
'fraid i join the crowd downgrading Wynton Marsalis a bit, unlike his father and his brother he is not a Jazz soul IMO.

Charlie Parker:: if you don't feel it, it won't come out of your horn

Wynton Marsalis has a truly outstanding control of the trumpet and he has incredible timing and phrasing. Just the genuine sophisticated blues feeling that is so typical for Jazz is missing IMO.
OTOH, his Jazz background and his technical skills, his extensive practising how to speak with a personal voice thru the instrument, puts him far ahead of other trumpeters in the field of composed music. I would go as far as to say, he blasts them away.

As i said above, i adore his recordings of Baroque and Vienna Classic style music. Spirit-lifting, truly divine IMO. Methinks, this is his music, not Jazz. I just doubt he knows that.

Gabriel and all,

with Wynton Marsalis, we are already discussing "classical" trumpet playing , i just tend to avoid the term "classical music" and replace it by "composed music" or "noted/written music". I despise the occidental cultural imperialism behind the term "classical music", asking myself why German/European classic(al) music is worldwide established to be classical. And what about India, Japan, China, Arabia, Bali, etc. ? Is their classical music degraded to be local folklore music then?

And Negro-America? Well, if the term "classical" is applied prejudice-free and without the afore-mentioned occidental cultural imperialism, then Wynton Marsalis plays classical music, no matter if he plays Jazz or composed music (let's forget the fact for a moment that some folks miss Jazz feeling in him).

And Clifford Brown, as far as Jazz is concerned, he plays classical, nothing less. Methinks i can afford to omit the obligatory IMO here.

I looked up definitions in my Webster Collegiate and my Oxford Concise Dictionaries and found British and American English to differ slightly; both agree in being foggy in definition; i found the distinction between classic and classical but meanings being partially inversed between American and Britsh.
A whole book on the topic: Robert A.Pirsig: Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. Seriously recommended.

I took the freedom to merge their definition with the German concept of classical (German language does not know the distinction between classic and classical) as far as art is concerned:
classic/classical: 1st class in style and commonly acknowledged so; relating to art characterized by emphasis on balance, clarity and moderation; simple, harmonious, well proportioned, finished; in accordance with established and proven forms.

According to that, Clifford Brown plays classic(al) (and Bix Beiderbecke, too!) although he only plays Jazz.
BTW, it took me many years to finally adore him, i had to grow into appreciating his art, to the same extent i had to grow into appreciating Joseph Haydn's and LvBeethoven's art; i must admit the hardest growing-into for me was with Haydn and Clifford Brown.

[Carl Ekblom]

Hello everyone,

Booker Little made a fantastic record on Time. No one seems to remember him. He is one of my favourite trumpet players.

Regards
Carl

[Gabrielshorn]

Hello dice45,

I agree about Don Ellis and Don Cherry. Great players both.

I think your reasoning for downgrading Wynton is misdirected. I have had long discussions with jazz musicians and knowledgable jazz fans about why Wynton is so controversial - some of these people like and some hate his playing. What I have found might interest you. At the root of the issue, there were two reasons that these people gave for the criticism of Wynton's playing. Like you, virtually everyone said that he lacked "soul" or they felt this was the reason that others disliked his work. However, when I asked them to describe this lack of soul, I was surprised at the consistency of the answer. Again, virtually everyone said that his playing was "too perfect" or "too clean." One person had an interesting comment, and I think this is as critical as I could ever be of Marsalis. He said that Wynton didn't push himself to the edge of his technical abilities enough, and that if he did, we would hear that "soul" that some think is missing. I think we'd hear a whole new style of jazz that would be difficult to absorb in the same way that Stravinsky was difficult for audiences to absorb (and musicians to play) in the early 20th century.

The second reason that a few people gave was that Wynton was just re-hashing a bunch of "old" jazz styles instead of moving jazz in a new direction. IMO, communications technology has moved music along so quickly in the 20th-21st century that thes styles of the last 50 years have not had a chance to mature completely before they have become "old."

I think the depth of Wynton's spontaneous, musical ideas, combined with his musical approach and phenomenal technique, make him one of the greatest jazz trumpet players ever. If soul is defined by bad tone, missed notes, or a lack of command over the instrument, I'd agree that Wynton is the least soulful jazz player I have ever heard.

IMO, your comments on occidental imperialism are a bit extreme. Western and eastern music are completely different in form, purpose and development, and as such don't stand up to direct comparison. In the west, music is an expression of human creativity, while in the east it is more utilitarian. If we dare to make a direct comparison, western music IS developmentally superior to eastern music because we treat music with a "forward-looking", creative spirit, while eastern cultures obey tradition and seek perfection and/or balance in their music as it has existed for centuries. In the East, music is the means to an end. In the West, it is often an end unto itself. BTW, most definitions of Classical music imply a connection to the heightened cultural develpoment of ancient Greece and particularly Rome. This is probably why most musicologists exclude eastern music in discussions of Classical music.

The thing we miss in not "judging" the product of one culture superior over another is the opportunity to learn. American car companies are still trying to understand how to successfully emulate the Japanese development and manufacturing model that has made cars from Toyota, Honda, and Nissan superior to those from GM, Ford and Chrysler.

German music (and engineering) is superior to music of many other cultures because of the greater emphasis that German culture has placed on musical advancement for many centuries. Asian music schools are filled with students learning western classical music - that includes Jazz. Precious few of them are working to advance the music of their respective cultures, except as a compositional device in western musical forms.

Don't get me wrong. I think Javanese Gamellan is great music. I also love to see and hear the Kodo Drummers whenever I get a chance. Talk about soul! Whew!

Gabrielshorn

[Gabrielshorn]

Booker Little. Hmm... I haven't heard of him either.

[dshortt9]

As a former trumpet player one of my favorites not mentioned is
Hugh Masakela

[dice45]

Gabrielshorn,
Booker Little is very good! You should get acquainted with his music. AFAIR, a buddy of Eric Dolphy.