A good friend, after reading my last post, sent me this news clipping dated May 1984 which makes reference to the “NTS” One O’Clock Lab Band. I think you will find this very interesting.
If I have offended any of my politically correct readers, I apologize and now on with my post. I recently attended one of the most unforgettable jazz concerts of my lifetime. I have had the pleasure of being in attendance at some of the great jazz band concerts including Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Don Ellis, Buddy Rich, Bill Watrous, etc. but the One O’Clock Lab band’s concert this past November 20th was one I will always remember. I have run, rehearsed, critiqued, coached and judged jazz bands most of my life and the first thing you…
Some may remember my first post (How to place your mouthpiece in your horn) which was written to disprove a practice which stresses the importance of placing your mouthpiece in the proper position to benefit your consistency in playing. This practice is called “Clocking” and the reference to positioning your mouthpiece in the best rotation in your mouthpiece receiver turn out to be true. What I started out to disprove, I ended up totally agreeing with. The reason for this second post on the same subject is again to verify the importance of the correct rotation of your mouthpiece in…
One of the more difficult requirements of trumpet players is coming in on a note with very little reference points. To become more accurate, I have found that isolating notes and playing them short tends to make the player more conscious of where the note must be played. In this recording you are expected to listen to the passage the first time through and then on the repeat, play the same notes as you heard. When a note is centered properly, it has a very distinctive sound which can be describes as “fat” and when the player is a little…
The name Vaughn Nark may not be on everyone’s list as an outstanding trumpet player but he should be. Here is a short background from Wikipedia on this remarkable player; Originally from Mt. Carmel, Penn. Nark began playing the trumpet at the age of six. His father Leon, also a trumpeter, was his first teacher. At seven, he was exposed to Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson and Doc Severinsen. Soon after graduating from high school, Nark auditioned and was accepted by the Unites States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., where he became a member of its premier jazz…
Trumpet players seldom admit to failure mainly because of their inflated egos. It truly takes a big man to actually admit to an occasional faux pas on their instrument. So to lighten my soul and get it out in the open, I will share with the world my two worst performances in hopes that other such suffers can emerge from their own closet and admit their shortcomings. Worst Performance #1 While teaching at the University of Northern Iowa, the faculty was expected, from time to time, to perform a solo recital. Early in my tenure there I agreed to…