That is a strange statement coming from a nearly eighty years old trumpet player, but that is how I would have liked to have played. Bobby has had a tremendous impact on the trumpet world, not only because of his beautiful sound, range and very gifted improvisational skills, but his contribution to trumpet education and equipment advances have also been important. Before I continue with his many accolades, let me first tell you of the first time I met this giant of the horn.
I first met Mr. Shew when I picked him up at a high school in the middle of Iowa. He had performed the previous evening with their jazz band and it was now my responsibility to escort him to our campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I was given the honor of having him solo with my jazz band (Jazz Ensemble II) at the University of Northern Iowa the next day. As we motored through the country side, the conversation turned to jazz and more importantly jazz and trumpet education. During our first visit I was most impressed with his friendliness and willingness to share a truck load of information about his past, present and future ideas in his career.
That afternoon, Mr. Shew gave a masters class which impressed even the most skeptical. Not only could he play, he was very comfortable and capable of expressing his views in the most articulate manner. We all fell in love with this gifted artist and musician. During our rehearsal, his comments and suggestions were greatly appreciated and I was very comfortable having him as my first real artist to perform with my band. It is not often that the director of a schools “second” band gets a chance to feature someone of his reputation. Later in my tenure I had other great musicians perform with my band including Lanny Morgan but Mr. Shew, as they say, was my first.
Our concert that evening was no less than spectacular. The students played above their usual fine level and I believe that having Bobby on the program was the reason for their spike. Mr. Shew stepped in front of my band and the rest is history. People spoke of that concert for years after that and I was very pleased to have been part of the concert.
After our concert it was a tradition to have a reception for the guest artist and I happily offered my home for that occasion. During the reception, my students had the chance to get some “hang time” with him and we all had a blast. Even Mr. Shew who I expect does this after most concerts, seemed to genuinely enjoy the time. During our visit another director who was to escort Bobby to his next gig repeatedly reminded him that it was getting late and the director felt they needed to leave. After the third attempt to remove Mr. Shew, Bobby turned to him and said, “I’m hanging with these guys and you’ll have to wait until I’m ready to leave”. The director never said another word all evening.
Mr. Shew’s ability to play trumpet falls into the category of the most gifted. He has the range, power, taste, technique, respect, imagination, teaching skills and most of all the heart of only a few. We, in music and music education thank you for being Bobby Shew.
With the many videos available to choose from, I finally decided to offer this for it is one of my favorites of Mr. Shew.
If you would like to know more on what he is currently doing, visit his web site.
