Trumpet

B♭ trumpet
Brass instrument
Classification	Brass Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	423.233 (Valved aerophone sounded by lip movement)
Playing range
Written range:
Related instruments
Flugelhorn, cornet, bugle, natural trumpet, bass trumpet, post horn, Roman tuba, bucina, shofar, conch, lur, didgeridoo, piccolo trumpet, baritone horn, pocket trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments,^[1] dating back to at least 1500 BC. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded oblong shape.

There are several types of trumpet; the most common is a transposing instrument pitched in B♭ with a tubing length of about 148 cm. Earlier trumpets did not have valves, but modern instruments generally have either three piston valves or, more rarely, three rotary valves. Each valve increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby lowering the pitch.

A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter.

History[link]

Ceramic trumpet. 300 AD Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

The earliest trumpets date back to 1500 BC and earlier. The bronze and silver trumpets from Tutankhamun's grave in Egypt, bronze lurs from Scandinavia, and metal trumpets from China date back to this period.^[2] Trumpets from the Oxus civilization (3rd millennium BC) of Central Asia have decorated swellings in the middle, yet are made out of one sheet of metal, which is considered a technical wonder.^[3] The Moche people of ancient Peru depicted trumpets in their art going back to 300 AD.^[4] The earliest trumpets were signaling instruments used for military or religious purposes, rather than music in the modern sense;^[5] and the modern bugle continues this signaling tradition.

In medieval times, trumpet playing was a guarded craft, its instruction occurring only within highly selective guilds. The trumpet players were often among the most heavily guarded members of a troop, as they were relied upon to relay instructions to other sections of the army.^{[citation needed]}

Trumpet player c.1660-1665

Reproduction Baroque trumpet by Michael Laird

Improvements to instrument design and metal making in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance led to an increased usefulness of the trumpet as a musical instrument. The natural trumpets of this era consisted of a single coiled tube without valves and therefore could only produce the notes of a single overtone series. Changing keys required the player to swap out the crooks of the instrument. The development of the upper, "clarino" register by specialist trumpeters—notably Cesare Bendinelli—would lend itself well to the Baroque era, also known as the "Golden Age of the natural trumpet." During this period, a vast body of music was written for virtuoso trumpeters. The art was revived in the mid-20th century and natural trumpet playing is again a thriving art around the world. Most successful modern players use a version of the natural trumpet dubbed the baroque trumpet fitted with one or more vent holes to aid in correcting out-of-tune notes in the harmonic series. The melody-dominated homophony of the classical and romantic periods relegated the trumpet to a secondary role by most major composers owing to the limitations of the natural trumpet. Berlioz wrote in 1844:

Notwithstanding the real loftiness and distinguished nature of its quality of tone, there are few instruments that have been more degraded (than the trumpet). Down to Beethoven and Weber, every composer - not excepting Mozart - persisted in confining it to the unworthy function of filling up, or in causing it to sound two or three commonplace rhythmical formulae.^[6]

The attempt to give the trumpet more chromatic freedom in its range saw the development of the keyed trumpet, but this was a largely unsuccessful venture due to the poor quality of its sound.

Although the impetus for a tubular valve began as early as 1793, it was not until 1818 that Friedrich Bluhmel and Heinrich Stölzel made a joint patent application for the box valve as manufactured by W. Schuster. The symphonies of Mozart, Beethoven, and as late as Brahms, were still played on natural trumpets. Crooks and shanks (removable tubing of various lengths) as opposed to keys or valves were standard, notably in France, into the first part of the 20th century. As a consequence of this late development of the instrument's chromatic ability, the repertoire for the instrument is relatively small compared to other instruments. The 20th century saw an explosion in the amount and variety of music written for the trumpet.

Construction[link]

Trumpet valve bypass (depressed)

The trumpet is constructed of brass tubing bent twice into a rounded oblong shape.^[7] The trumpet and trombone share a roughly cylindrical bore, which results in a bright, loud sound. The bore is actually a complex series of tapers, smaller at the mouthpiece receiver and larger just before the flare of the bell begins; careful design of these tapers is critical to the intonation of the instrument. By comparison, the cornet and flugelhorn have conical bores and produce a more mellow tone. Bore sizes generally range from 0.430 to 0.472 inches and are usually listed as medium, medium large and large from various manufacturers.^{[citation needed]}

As with all brass instruments, sound is produced by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound into the mouthpiece and starting a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the trumpet. The player can select the pitch from a range of overtones or harmonics by changing the lip aperture and tension (known as the embouchure). The mouthpiece has a circular rim, which provides a comfortable environment for the lips' vibration. Directly behind the rim is the cup, which channels the air into a much smaller opening (the back bore or shank) that tapers out slightly to match the diameter of the trumpet's lead pipe. The dimensions of these parts of the mouthpiece affect the timbre or quality of sound, the ease of playability, and player comfort. Generally, the wider and deeper the cup, the darker the sound and timbre.

B♭ trumpet disassembled

Modern trumpets have three (or infrequently four) piston valves, each of which increases the length of tubing when engaged, thereby lowering the pitch. The first valve lowers the instrument's pitch by a whole step (2 semitones), the second valve by a half step (1 semitone), and the third valve by one-and-a-half steps (3 semitones). When a fourth valve is present, as with some piccolo trumpets, it lowers the pitch a perfect fourth (5 semitones). Used singly and in combination these valves make the instrument fully chromatic, i.e., able to play all twelve pitches of classical music. For more information about the different types of valves, see Brass instrument valves.

The pitch of the trumpet can be raised or lowered by the use of the tuning slide. Pulling the slide out lowers the pitch; pushing the slide in raises it. To overcome the problems of intonation and reduce the use of the slide, Renold Schilke designed the tuning-bell trumpet. Removing the usual brace between the bell and a valve body allows the use of a sliding bell; the player may then tune the horn with the bell while leaving the slide pushed in, or nearly so, thereby improving intonation and overall response.^[8]

A trumpet becomes a closed tube when the player presses it to the lips; therefore, the instrument only naturally produces every other overtone of the harmonic series. The shape of the bell makes the missing overtones audible.^[9] Most notes in the series are slightly out of tune and modern trumpets have slide mechanisms built in to compensate.

Types of trumpets[link]

The most common type is the B♭ trumpet, but low F, C, D, E♭, E, G and A trumpets are also available. The C trumpet is most common in American orchestral playing, where it is used alongside the B♭ trumpet. Its slightly smaller size gives it a brighter, more lively sound. Because music written for early trumpets required the use of a different trumpet for each key — they did not have valves and therefore were not chromatic — and also because a player may choose to play a particular passage on a different trumpet from the one indicated on the written music, orchestra trumpet players are generally adept at transposing music at sight, sometimes playing music written for the B♭ trumpet on the C trumpet, and vice versa.

Piccolo trumpet in B♭, with swappable leadpipes to tune the instrument to B♭ (shorter) or A (longer)

The standard trumpet range extends from the written F♯ immediately below Middle C up to about three octaves higher. Traditional trumpet repertoire rarely calls for notes beyond this range, and the fingering tables of most method books peak at the high C, two octaves above middle C. Several trumpeters have achieved fame for their proficiency in the extreme high register, among them Maynard Ferguson, Cat Anderson, Dizzy Gillespie and more recently Wayne Bergeron. It is also possible to produce pedal tones below the low F♯, which is a device commonly employed in contemporary repertoire for the instrument.

The smallest trumpets are referred to as piccolo trumpets. The most common of these are built to play in both B♭ and A, with separate leadpipes for each key. The tubing in the B♭ piccolo trumpet is one-half the length of that in a standard B♭ trumpet. Piccolo trumpets in G, F and C are also manufactured, but are rarer. Many players use a smaller mouthpiece on the piccolo trumpet, which requires a different sound production technique from the B♭ trumpet and can limit endurance. Almost all piccolo trumpets have four valves instead of the usual three — the fourth valve lowers the pitch, usually by a fourth, to assist in the playing of lower notes and to create alternate fingerings that facilitate certain trills. Maurice André, Håkan Hardenberger, David Mason, and Wynton Marsalis are some well-known piccolo trumpet players.

Trumpet in C with rotary valves

Trumpets pitched in the key of low G are also called sopranos, or soprano bugles, after their adaptation from military bugles. Traditionally used in drum and bugle corps, sopranos have featured both rotary valves and piston valves.

The bass trumpet is usually played by a trombone player, being at the same pitch. Bass trumpet is played with a shallower trombone mouthpiece, and music for it is written in treble clef. The most common keys for bass trumpets are C and B♭ . Both C and B♭ bass trumpets are transposing instruments sounding an octave (C) or a major ninth (B♭ ) lower than written.

The modern slide trumpet is a B♭ trumpet that has a slide instead of valves. It is similar to a soprano trombone. The first slide trumpets emerged during the Renaissance, predating the modern trombone, and are the first attempts to increase chromaticism on the instrument. Slide trumpets were the first trumpets allowed in the Christian church.^[10]

The historical slide trumpet was probably first developed in the late 14th century for use in alta capella wind bands. Deriving from early straight trumpets, the Renaissance slide trumpet was essentially a natural trumpet with a sliding leadpipe. This single slide was rather awkward, as the entire corpus of the instrument moved, and the range of the slide was probably no more than a major third. Originals were probably pitched in D, to fit with shawms in D and G, probably at a typical pitch standard near A=466 Hz. As no known instruments from this period survive, the details—and even the existence—of a Renaissance slide trumpet is a matter of conjecture and debate among scholars.^[11]

Some slide trumpet designs saw use in England in the 18th century.^[12]

The pocket trumpet is a compact B♭ trumpet. The bell is usually smaller than a standard trumpet and the tubing is more tightly wound to reduce the instrument size without reducing the total tube length. Its design is not standardized, and the quality of various models varies greatly. It can have a tone quality and projection unique in the trumpet world: a warm sound and a voice-like articulation. Unfortunately, since many pocket trumpet models suffer from poor design as well as cheap and sloppy manufacturing, the intonation, tone color and dynamic range of such instruments are severely hindered. Professional-standard instruments are, however, available. While they are not a substitute for the full-sized instrument, they can be useful in certain contexts. The jazz musician Don Cherry was renowned for his playing of the pocket instrument.

The herald trumpet is a B♭ trumpet with an elongated bell extending far in front of the player. Due to its showy appearance, this type of trumpet is mostly used for ceremonial events such as parades and fanfares.

There are also rotary-valve, or German, trumpets, as well as alto and Baroque trumpets.

The trumpet is often confused with its close relative the cornet, which has a more conical tubing shape compared to the trumpet's more cylindrical tube. This, along with additional bends in the cornet's tubing, gives the cornet a slightly mellower tone, but the instruments are otherwise nearly identical. They have the same length of tubing and, therefore, the same pitch, so music written for cornet and trumpet is interchangeable. Another relative, the flugelhorn, has tubing that is even more conical than that of the cornet, and an even richer tone. It is sometimes augmented with a fourth valve to improve the intonation of some lower notes.

Playing[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Fingering[link]

On any modern trumpet, cornet, or flugelhorn, pressing the valves indicated by the numbers below produces the written notes shown. "OPEN" means all valves up, "1" means first valve, "1-2" means first and second valve simultaneously, and so on. The concert pitch that sounds depends on the transposition of the instrument. Engaging the fourth valve, if present, drops any of these pitches by a perfect fourth as well. Within each overtone series, the different pitches are attained by changing the embouchure, or lip-aperture size and "firmness". Standard fingerings above high C are the same as for the notes an octave below (C♯ is 1-2, D is 1, etc.)

A step = a tone; a half step = a semitone

Each overtone series on the trumpet begins with the first overtone—the fundamental of each overtone series can not be produced except as a pedal tone. Notes in parentheses are the sixth overtone, representing a pitch with a frequency of seven times that of the fundamental; while this pitch is close to the note shown, it is slightly flat relative to equal temperament, and use of those fingerings is generally avoided.

The fingering schema arises from the length of each valve's tubing (a longer tube produces a lower pitch). Valve "1" increases the tubing length enough to lower the pitch by one whole step, valve "2" by one half step, and valve "3" by one and a half steps. This scheme and the nature of the overtone series create the possibility of alternate fingerings for certain notes. For example, third-space "C" can be produced with no valves engaged (standard fingering) or with valves 2-3. Also, any note produced with 1-2 as its standard fingering can also be produced with valve 3 - each drops the pitch by 1-1/2 steps. Alternate fingerings may be used to improve facility in certain passages, or to aid in intonation. Extending the third valve slide when using the fingerings 1-3 or 1-2-3 further lowers the pitch slightly to improve intonation.

Extended technique[link]

Contemporary music for the trumpet makes wide uses of extended trumpet techniques.

Flutter tonguing: The trumpeter rolls the tip of the tongue to produce a 'growling like' tone. It is achieved as if one were rolling an R in the Spanish language. This technique is widely employed by composers like Berio and Stockhausen.

Growling: Simultaneously humming while playing a note creates two sets of vibrations that interfere with each other and create a characteristic 'growling' sound. Many jazz players use the technique—which is different from flutter-tonguing, where the tongue modifies the sound.

Double tonguing: The player articulates using the syllables ta-ka ta-ka ta-ka

Triple tonguing: The same as double tonguing, but with the syllables ta-ta-ka ta-ta-ka ta-ta-ka.

Doodle tongue: The trumpeter tongues as if saying the word doodle. This is a very faint tonguing similar in sound to a valve tremolo.

Glissando: Trumpeters can slide between notes by depressing the valve halfway or changing the lip tension. Modern repertoire makes extensive use of this technique.

Vibrato: It is often regulated in contemporary repertoire through specific notation. Composers can call for everything from fast, slow or no vibrato to actual rhythmic patterns played with vibrato.

Pedal tone: Composers have written for two and a half octaves below the low F#, which is at the bottom of the standard range. Extreme low pedals are produced by slipping the lower lip out of the mouthpiece. Claude Gordon assigned pedals as part of his trumpet practice routines, that were an systematic expansion on his lessons with Herbert L. Clarke. The technique was pioneered by Bohumir Kryl.^[13]

Microtones: Composers such as Scelsi and Stockhausen have made wide use of the trumpet's ability to play microtonally. Some instruments feature a fourth valve that provides a quarter-tone step between each note.

Mute belt: Karlheinz Stockhausen pioneered the use of a mute belt, worn around the player's waist, to enable rapid mute changes during pieces. The belt allows the performer to make faster and quieter mute changes, as well as enabling the performer to move around the stage.

Valve tremolo: Many notes on the trumpet can be played in several different valve combinations. By alternating between valve combinations on the same note, a tremolo effect can be created. Berio makes extended use of this technique in his Sequenza X.

Noises: By hissing, clicking, or breathing through the instrument, the trumpet can be made to resonate in ways that do not sound at all like a trumpet. Noises sound a 1/2 step higher than they are notated,^{[citation needed]} and often require amplification.

Preparation: Composers have called for trumpeters to play under water, or with certain slides removed. It is increasingly common for composers to specify all sorts of preparations for trumpet. Extreme preparations involve alternate constructions, such as double bells and extra valves.

Singing: Composers such as Robert Erickson and Mark-Anthony Turnage have called for trumpeters to sing during the course of a piece, often while playing. It is possible to create a multiphonic effect by singing and playing different notes simultaneously.

Split tone: Trumpeters can produce more than one tone simultaneously by vibrating the two lips at different speeds. The interval produced is usually an octave or a fifth.

Lip Trill or Shake: By rapidly varying lip tension, but not changing the depressed valves, the pitch varies quickly between adjacent harmonics. These are usually done, and are more straightforward to execute, in the upper register.

Instruction and method books[link]

One trumpet method publication of long-standing popularity is Jean-Baptiste Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet (Cornet).^[14] Other well-known method books include Technical Studies by Herbert L. Clarke,^[15] Grand Method by Louis Saint-Jacome,Daily Drills and Technical Studies by Max Schlossberg, and methods by Ernest S. Williams, Claude Gordon, Charles Colin, James Stamp and Louis Davidson.^[16] Vassily Brandt's Orchestral Etudes and Last Etudes^[17] is used in many college and conservatory trumpet studios, containing drills on permutations of standard orchestral trumpet repertoire, transpositions, and other advanced material. A common method book for beginners is the Walter Beeler's Method for the Cornet, and there have been several instruction books written by virtuoso Allen Vizzutti.

Players[link]

Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong in 1953

In early jazz, Louis Armstrong was well known for his virtuosity and his improvisations on the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. Miles Davis is widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century—his style was distinctive and widely imitated. Davis' phrasing and sense of space in his solos have been models for generations of jazz musicians.^[18] Dizzy Gillespie was a gifted improviser with an extremely high range, building on the style of Roy Eldridge but adding new layers of harmonic complexity. Gillespie had an enormous impact on virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of his playing and as a mentor to younger musicians. Maynard Ferguson 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.^[19]

Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in 1988

Notable classical trumpeters include Maurice André, Armando Ghitalla, Alison Balsom, Hakan Hardenberger, Tine Thing Helseth, Adolph "Bud" Herseth, Malcolm McNab, Rafael Méndez, Maurice Murphy, Sergei Nakariakov, Charles Schlueter, Philip Smith, William Vacchiano, Allen Vizzutti, and Roger Voisin.

Notable jazz trumpet players include Nat Adderley, Bud Brisbois, Chet Baker, Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Doc Cheatham, Don Cherry, Kenny Dorham, Dave Douglas, Ziggy Elman, Jon Faddis, Maynard Ferguson, Roy Hargrove, Tom Harrell, Erskine Hawkins, Freddie Hubbard, Roger Ingram, Harry James, Wynton Marsalis, Blue Mitchell, Lee Morgan, Fats Navarro, Nicholas Payton, Claudio Roditi, Wallace Roney, Arturo Sandoval, Bobby Shew, Doc Severinsen, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Allen Vizzutti, Miles Davis, Cootie Williams, and Snooky Young.

Notable natural trumpet players include Valentine Snow for whom Handel wrote several pieces and Gottfried Reiche who was Bach's chief trumpeter.

The American orchestral trumpet sound is largely attributable to Adolph "Bud" Herseth's 53-year tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Though he was not as prolific a teacher as some of his peers, his widely recorded sound became the standard for American orchestras.

Musical pieces[link]

Solos[link]

The repertoire for the natural trumpet and cornetto is extensive. This music is commonly played on modern piccolo trumpets, although there are many highly proficient performers of the original instruments. This vast body of repertoire includes the music of Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Bach, Vivaldi and countless other composers. Because the overtone series doesn't allow stepwise movement until the upper register, the tessitura for this repertoire is very high.

Joseph Haydn's Trumpet Concerto was one of the first for a chromatic trumpet,^[20] a fact shown off by some stepwise melodies played low in the instrument's range. Johann Hummel wrote the other great Trumpet Concerto of the Classical period, and these two pieces are the cornerstone of the instrument's repertoire. Written as they were in the infancy of the chromatic trumpet, they reflect only a minor advancement of the trumpet's musical language, with the Hummel's being the more adventurous piece by far.

In 1827, François Dauverné became the first musician to use the new F three-valved trumpet in public performance.

In the 20th century, trumpet repertoire expanded rapidly as composers embraced the almost completely untapped potential of the modern trumpet.

See also[link]

• Salpinx
• Clarion
• Compositions for trumpet
• Guča trumpet festival – The world's largest trumpet festival
• Keyed trumpet
• List of trumpeters
• Muted trumpet
• Piccolo trumpet
• Baroque trumpet
• Natural trumpet
• Trumpet repertoire
• Trumpets' Republic - documentary film

References[link]

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Barclay, Robert. The Art of the Trumpet-Maker: The Materials, Tools and Techniques of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Nuremberg , Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-19-816223-5
• Bate, Philip. The Trumpet and Trombone: An Outline of Their History, Development, and Construction, Ernest Benn, 1978, ISBN 0-393-02129-7
• Brownlow, James Arthur. The Last Trumpet: A History of the English Slide Trumpet, Pendragon Press, 1996, ISBN 0-945193-81-5
• Campos, Frank Gabriel. Trumpet Technique, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-516692-2
• Cassone, Gabriele. The Trumpet Book, pages 352+CD, illustrated, Zecchini Editore, 2009, ISBN 88-87203-80-6
• Sherman, Roger. Trumpeter's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing and Teaching the Trumpet, Accura Music, 1979, ISBN 0-918194-02-4
• Skardinski, Stan. You Can't Be Timid With a Trumpet: Notes from the Orchestra, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980, ISBN 0-688-41963-1
• Smithers, Don L. The Music and History of the Baroque Trumpet Before 1721, Syracuse University Press, 1973, ISBN 0-8156-2157-4.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trumpet

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Trumpet.

• International Trumpet Guild, international trumpet players' association with online library of scholarly journal back issues, news, jobs and other trumpet resources.
• Trumpet Playing Articles by Jeff Purtle, protege of Claude Gordon
• Jay Lichtmann's trumpet studies Scales and technical trumpet studies.
• Dallas Music — a non-profit musical instrument resource site
• A trumpet fingering chartPDF (43.2 KiB)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Rafael Méndez (March 26, 1906 - September 15, 1981) was a popular Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter.

Méndez was born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, Mexico. As a young child, Méndez was the cornetist for Pancho Villa.^[1]

His most famous recording, "Moto Perpetuo", was written in the eighteenth century by Paganini for violin and features Mendez double-tonguing continuously for over 4 minutes while circular breathing to give the illusion that he is not taking a natural breath while playing.

From 1950 to 1975, Méndez was a full time soloist, performing as many as 125 concerts per year. He was also very active as a recording artist. Many of his recordings are now available on compact disc.

Méndez was legendary for his tone, range, technique and unparalleled double tonguing. Méndez's playing was characterized by a brilliant tone, wide vibrato and clean, rapid articulation. His repertoire was a mixture of classical, popular, Mexican folk music and jazz. Méndez contributed many arrangements and original compositions to the trumpet repertoire. His Scherzo in D Minor is often heard in recitals, and has been recorded by David Hickman. He was considered to many people the best trumpet/cornet player in the world.

The music building of Arizona State University houses the Rafael Méndez Library, established in 1993.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rafael Méndez Online Library and free sound clips (mp3) at Arizona State University.

This article about a Mexican musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Wynton Marsalis
Marsalis at the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (OSPAC) Seventh Annual Jazz Festival in West Orange, New Jersey
Background information
Birth name	Wynton Learson Marsalis
Born	(1961-10-18) October 18, 1961 (age 50) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genres	Jazz, post-bop, jazz poetry, Classical
Occupations	Composer, trumpeter, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Opera
Instruments	Trumpet
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Columbia, Sony, Blue Note
Associated acts	English Chamber Orchestra
Website	www.wyntonmarsalis.com

Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is a trumpeter, composer, teacher, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, United States. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences. Marsalis has been awarded nine Grammys in both genres, and a jazz recording of his was the first of its kind to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Marsalis is the son of jazz musician Ellis Marsalis, Jr. (pianist), grandson of Ellis Marsalis, Sr., and brother of Branford (saxophonist), Delfeayo (trombonist), Mboya, and Jason (drummer).

Life and career[link]

Wynton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, the second of six sons of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music professor.^[1] At an early age, he exhibited an aptitude for music. At age eight, Wynton performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by banjoist Danny Barker, and at 14, he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During high school, Wynton performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, various jazz bands and with a local funk band, the Creators.

He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School with a 3.98 GPA.^[2] At age 17, Wynton was the youngest musician admitted to Tanglewood's Berkshire Music Center, where he won the school's Harvey Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. Wynton moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979, and picked up gigs around town. During this period, Wynton received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to spend time and study with trumpet innovator Woody Shaw, one of Wynton's major influences at the time. In 1980, Wynton joined the Jazz Messengers led by Art Blakey. In the years that followed, Wynton performed with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and countless other jazz legends.

In 1995, PBS premiered Marsalis On Music, an educational television series on jazz and classical music hosted and written by Marsalis. Also, in 1995, National Public Radio aired the first of Marsalis’ 26-week series, entitled Making the Music. Wynton's radio and television series were awarded the George Foster Peabody Award. Marsalis has also written five books: Sweet Swing Blues on the Road, Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road, Jazz ABZ (an A to Z collection of poems celebrating jazz greats), and his most recent release Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987, Wynton Marsalis co-founded a jazz program at Lincoln Center. In July 1996, Jazz at Lincoln Center was installed as new constituent of Lincoln Center. In October 2004, Marsalis opened Frederick P. Rose Hall, the world's first institution for jazz containing three performance spaces (including the first concert hall designed specifically for jazz) along with recording, broadcast, rehearsal and educational facilities. Wynton presently serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center and Music Director for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.^{[citation needed]} One of his most recent releases was a 2011 collaboration with blues-rock guitarist Eric Clapton, a Jazz at Lincoln Center concert that produced the live album Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues.

In December 2011, Marsalis was named cultural correspondent for the new CBS This Morning.^[3]

Awards and recognition[link]

Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards. In 1983 and 1984, he became the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards for both jazz and classical records, and he is the only artist to win Grammy Awards for five consecutive years (1983–1987).

Honorary degrees Marsalis has received include those conferred by New York University,^[4] Columbia, Harvard, Howard, the State University of New York, Princeton and Yale. Marsalis was honored with the Louis Armstrong Memorial Medal and the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement and was dubbed an Honorary Dreamer by the I Have a Dream Foundation. The New York Urban League awarded Marsalis with the Frederick Douglass Medallion for distinguished leadership and the American Arts Council presented him with the Arts Education Award.

Time magazine list of promising Americans under the age 40 selected Maralis in 1995, and in 1996, Time celebrated Marsalis as one of America's 25 most influential people. In November 2005, Marsalis received the National Medal of Arts. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan proclaimed Marsalis an international ambassador of goodwill for the United States by appointing him a UN Messenger of Peace (2001).

In 1997, Marsalis became the first jazz musician ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his epic oratorio, Blood On The Fields. In a personal note to Marsalis, Zarin Mehta wrote, "I was not surprised at your winning the Pulitzer Prize for Blood On The Fields. It is a broad, beautifully painted canvas that impresses and inspires. It speaks to us all ... I’m sure that, somewhere in the firmament, Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong and legions of others are smiling down on you."^{[citation needed]}

Marsalis won the Netherlands’ Edison Award and the Grand Prix du Disque of France. The Mayor of Vitoria, Spain, awarded Wynton with the city's Gold Medal – its most coveted distinction. In 1996, Britain's senior conservatoire, the Royal Academy of Music, made Marsalis an honorary member, the Academy's highest decoration for a non-British citizen. The city of Marciac, France, erected a bronze statue in his honor. The French Ministry of Culture appointed Wynton the rank of Knight in the Order of Arts and Literature, and in the fall of 2009, Marsalis received France's highest distinction, the insignia Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, an honor that was first awarded by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Statue dedicated to W. Marsalis in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Marsalis, with his father and brothers, are group recipients of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award.^[5]

Marsalis has toured 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica, and nearly five million copies of his recordings have been sold worldwide.

Music awards[link]

Pulitzer Prize for Music

• 1997 Blood on the Fields, oratorio

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

• 1986 Black Codes (From the Underground)
• 1987 J Mood
• 1988 Marsalis Standard Time - Volume I

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)

• 1983 Raymond Leppard (conductor), Wynton Marsalis & the National Philharmonic Orchestra for Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E Flat/L. Mozart: Trumpet Concerto In D/Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E Flat
• 1984 Raymond Leppard (conductor), Wynton Marsalis & the English Chamber Orchestra for Wynton Marsalis, Edita Gruberova: Handel, Purcell, Torelli, Fasch, Molter

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo

• 1983 Think of One
• 1984 Hot House Flowers
• 1985 Black Codes (From the Underground)

Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children

• 2000 Listen to the Storyteller

Criticisms[link]

Several jazz notables have unfavorable views of Marsalis' musicianship. Jazz critic Scott Yanow viewed Marsalis as talented but criticized his "selective knowledge of jazz history" and his regard for "post-1965 avant-garde playing to be outside of jazz and 1970s fusion to be barren" as the unfortunate result of the "somewhat eccentric beliefs of Stanley Crouch.^[6] Trumpeter Lester Bowie said of Marsalis, "If you retread what's gone before, even if it sounds like jazz, it could be anathema to the spirit of jazz."^[7] In his 1997 book Blue: The Murder of Jazz, Eric Nisenson argues that Marsalis's focus on a narrow portion of jazz's past stifled growth and innovation.^[8] In 1997, pianist Keith Jarrett criticized Marsalis saying "I've never heard anything Wynton played sound like it meant anything at all. Wynton has no voice and no presence. His music sounds like a talented high-school trumpet player to me."^[9] Pierre Sprey, president of jazz record company Mapleshade Records, said in 2001 that "When Marsalis was nineteen, he was a fine jazz trumpeter...But he was getting his tail beat off every night in Art Blakey's band. I don't think he could keep up. And finally he retreated to safe waters. He's a good classical trumpeter and thus he sees jazz as being a classical music. He has no clue what's going on now."^[10] Bassist Stanley Clarke said "All the guys that are criticizing—like Wynton Marsalis and those guys—I would hate to be around to hear those guys playing on top of a groove!"^[11] In his autobiography, Miles Davis – who Marsalis said had left jazz and "went into rock"^[12] – hedged his praise of Marsalis by suggesting that he was unoriginal. He also found him too competitive, saying "Wynton thinks playing music is about blowing people up on stage." In 1986, in Vancouver, Davis stopped his band to eject an uninvited Marsalis from the stage. Davis said "Wynton can't play the kind of shit we were playing", and twice told Marsalis "Get the fuck off."^[13]

Some critical exchanges have included insults. Besides insinuating that Davis had pandered to audiences, Marsalis said Davis dressed like a "buffoon." Trumpeter Lester Bowie called Marsalis "brain dead", "mentally-ill" and "trapped in some opinions that he had at age 21... because he's been paid to."^[7][12] Marsalis in reply said Bowie was "another guy who never really could play."^[12]

Marsalis was criticized for pressing his neo-classicist opinions of jazz as producer and on-screen commentator in the Ken Burns documentary Jazz (2001). The documentary focused primarily on Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong among others, while ignoring other jazz artists. David Adler said that "Wynton's coronation in the film is not merely biased. It is not just aesthetically grating. It is unethical, given his integral role in the making of the very film that is praising him to the heavens."^[14]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Wynton Marsalis

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wynton Marsalis

• Official website
• Profile at Jazz at the Lincoln Center (click 'more')
• Wynton Marsalis at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Wynton Marsalis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Wynton Marsalis at the Notable Names Database
• Wynton Marsalis collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Wynton Marsalis on The Tavis Smiley Show, March 15, 2011 (23:31 video)
• Post-Katrina Tulane University Speech
• USA Today Q&A, January 14, 2007
• Wynton Marsalis: Reader's guide

Tine Thing Helseth
Background information
Born	(1987-08-18) 18 August 1987 (age 24)
Origin	Oslo, Norway
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Soloist Trumpeter
Instruments	Trumpet
Website	http://www.tinethinghelseth.com/

Tine Thing Helseth (phonetic pron.Tin-eh Ting Hel-set) (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈtiːnɛ tɪŋ hɛlsɛt]; born August 18, 1987 in Oslo is a Norwegian trumpet soloist specializing in classical repertoire.

Helseth started to play trumpet at the age of 7 and studies at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo. Her teachers have included Heidi Johanessen (Norwegian National Opera Orchestra) and since 2002 Arnulf Naur Nilsen (Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra).^[1] She also appears on Didrik Solli-Tangen's second single Best Kept Secret, taken from Solli-Tangen's debut album Guilty Pleasures, which was released on September 3, 2010.

Prizes, contests and awards[link]

• National Soloist Championship of Norway no-age-limit open class 1st Prize 2004 ^[2]
• International Trumpet competition "Theo Charlier" Brussels, Belgium 2nd prize 2005 ^[2]
• Oslo Music Teachers Foundation Prize of Honour 2005 ^[1]
• Yamaha Music Foundation Europe Scholarship 2006 ^[1]
• Eurovision Young Musicians Competition 2006 2nd place ^[1][3]
• The Prince Eugen Culture Prize 2006
• NRK Radio P2 Prize for 2006/2007 ^[4]
• Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship 2009

Concert and festival performances[link]

Tine has performed with such orchestras as the Wiener Symphoniker, Beethoven Academie, Capella Cracowiensis, The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra,^[5] Slovenian Radio Symphony Ljubljana, Oslo Camerata, Camerata Nordica, Württemberg Philharmonic, the Trondheim Soloists, Norwegian symphony orchestras, Norwegian Army bands and other brass and wind ensembles.

Future engagements include concerts with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Bielefeld Symphony Orchestra, Värmlands Operaens Sinfonietta, and Georgische Kammerorchester.

She has appeared at music festivals including Bergen International Festival, Kissinger Summer Festival and Usedomer Music Festival.^[4]

Tine performed at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

Tine has also performed three times in the United States so far. The first time was December 13, 2009 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.. More recently she performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 18, 2011, and the Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pennsylvania on February 20, 2011.^[6]

Tine is the leader of an all female brass ensemble tenThing^[7]

Discography[link]

• 2007: Trumpet Concertos, Haydn, Albinoni, Neruda, Hummel - with Det Norske Kammerorkester
• 2009: Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker
• 2011: Storyteller

References[link]

External links[link]

• Myspace Site
• Personal website in English
• Haydn Concerto 3rd mvt on YouTube

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Harry James
Background information
Birth name	Henry Haag James
Born	(1916-03-15)March 15, 1916 Albany, Georgia
Died	July 5, 1983(1983-07-05) (aged 67) Las Vegas, Nevada
Genres	Big band, swing music
Occupations	Musician, Bandleader
Years active	1937–1983
Associated acts	Frank Sinatra Ben Pollack Benny Goodman

Henry Haag “Harry” James (March 15, 1916 - July 5, 1983) was an actor and musician best known as a trumpeter who led a swing band during the Big Band Swing Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.

Biography[link]

From left: Stan "Cuddles" Johnson, Fraser MacPherson, Bob Smith, Harry James, Al Johnson, Stew Barnett. (The Cave Supper Club, May 1970)

From left: Harry James, Lucille Ball, Betty Grable. (The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, 1958)

Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia,^[1] the son of a bandleader of a traveling circus.^[2] By the age of 10 he was taking trumpet lessons from his father, who placed him on a strict daily practice schedule. Each day, James was given one page to learn from the Arban's book and was not allowed to pursue any other pastime until he had learned that particular page.

In 1931 his family settled in Beaumont, Texas, where James began playing with local dance bands.

In 1935 he joined the nationally popular Ben Pollack but at the start of 1937 left Pollack to join Benny Goodman's orchestra, where he stayed through 1938. He was nicknamed "The Hawk" early in his career for his ability to "sight-read." A common joke was that if a fly landed on his written music, Harry James would play it. His low range had a warmth associated with the cornet and even the flugelhorn, but he achieved this on the trumpet. This was emulated by Jack Sheldon, but this sound was underrecorded in favor of James' brilliant high register.

In February 1939 James debuted his own big band in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His hit "You Made Me Love You" was in the Top 10 during the week of December 7, 1941.^[3] He toured with the band into the 1980s.

His was the first "name band" to employ vocalist Frank Sinatra, in 1939. He wanted to change Sinatra's name to 'Frankie Satin' but Sinatra refused. His later band included drummer Buddy Rich.

He played trumpet in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn,^[4] dubbing Kirk Douglas. James's recording of "I'm Beginning to See the Light" appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip (2000). His music is also featured in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters. James recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies.

He was second only to Glenn Miller as the most successful recording artist of 1942.^[2] His orchestra succeeded Miller's on a program sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes that year when Miller disbanded his orchestra to enter the Army.

James was married three times. On May 4, 1935, he married singer Louise Tobin, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 1943.^[2] That same year, he married actress Betty Grable. They had two daughters, Victoria and Jessica, before divorcing in 1965. James married a third time in 1968 to Las Vegas showgirl Joan Boyd, whom he would divorce in March 1970. Contrary to some assertions, he did not marry a fourth time. He had five children (two by Tobin, two by Grable, one by Boyd) and (as of his death) 16 grandchildren.

James owned several thoroughbred racehorses that won races such as the California Breeders' Champion Stakes (1951) and the San Vicente Stakes (1954). He was also a founding investor in the Atlantic City Race Course. His knowledge of horse racing was demonstrated during a 1958 appearance on The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour entitled "Lucy Wins A Racehorse.^[5]"

In 1983, James was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but he continued to work, playing his last professional job on June 26, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, just nine days before his death in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[1][6] He died exactly 40 years after his marriage to Betty Grable (July 5, 1943), who was buried exactly 30 years after that date (July 5, 1973). Frank Sinatra gave the eulogy at the Bunkers Eden Vale Memorial Park in Las Vegas.^[7]

In 2007, a personally owned and stage-played custom made trumpet formerly owned by both James and trumpeter Joe Cabot was sold at auction for a mid five-figure amount. It was played by both men while they toured together from 1979–1982 in the musical review The Big Broadcast of 1944.

Filmography[link]

• Hollywood Hotel (1937) (as himself, in Benny Goodman's band)
• Springtime in the Rockies (1942) (as himself)
• Private Buckaroo (1942) (as himself)
• Swing Fever (1943) (as himself)
• Best Foot Forward (1943) (as himself)
• Bathing Beauty (1944) (as himself)
• Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) (as himself)
• Do You Love Me (1946)
• If I'm Lucky (1946)
• Carnegie Hall (1947) (as himself)
• I'll Get By (1950) (as himself)
• The Benny Goodman Story (1956) (as himself)
• The Opposite Sex (1956) (as himself)
• Outlaw Queen (1957)
• Riot in Rhythm (1957) (short subject; as himself)
• The Sting II (1983)

Singles[link]

See also[link]

• Al Lerner (composer)
• Dick Haymes
• Jack Gardner (musician)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harry James

• The Harry James Orchestra – Official Site
• Harry James at Allmusic
• Harry James at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry James at Find-A-Grave
• Harry James and his big band
• Solid! – Harry James
• – The Man With The Horn – A Biography of Harry James
• Harry James Official 10inch (78rpm) Discography (w/ Photo Vinyl & Cat. Numbers)