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One of the oldest and finest musical instruments in the world, the trumpet can be an unforgiving beast, but it also has a gorgeous simplicity about it. Some carefully shaped metal piping and three valves - what could be simpler! Not to mention a sound that can raise the hairs on the back of the smoothest neck at a hundred paces. It can be brash and fiery, tender and mournful, and all points in between.
Trumpet at The Blowout School is taught by Pete Judge. Pete’s a Bristol-based trumpeter who’s played, toured and recorded with countless musicians, from Congo’s Papa Noel and France’s Marc Gauvin, to Cuba’s Asere and the UK’s Vivian Stanshall. Locally, you can catch his distinctive, leftfield playing with the likes of Organelles and The Blessing.
When Pete’s away, lessons are taken by the great Gary Alesbrook, one of the finest jazz trumpeters in the Southwest, as well as trumpeter of choice for Super Furry Animals, Gomez, and anyone else in the know!
In the lessons, we’ll start with the basics (producing a sound) and go from there, with some playful warm-ups, simple scales, ear-training, improvising, maybe some note-reading if desired (not essential). We’ll learn some tunes right from the start (some ska, some jazz, some pop, some funk, some whatever-you-want-to-learn). There’ll be some advice on maintaining the instrument, too.
We’ll do some listening as well as playing. Lots of playing, but also lots of resting – you can't run before you can walk with this instrument. And before you know it you’ll be knocking ‘em dead with your playing at the next Blowout School gig!
Blowout
Gig (12/11/2004)*At the last Blowout School gig the Blowout trumpeter played an outstandng rendition of 'Mercy Mercy Mercy' which went down a storm.
Pete teaches on alternate Tuesdays at the Blowout Music School here in Bath.
To book a lesson with Pete ring us on 01225 339 007
Recommended books:
The Rough Guide To The Trumpet and Trombone
(attractive little volume all about the history, design, and technical
aspects of the instrument, with advice on such things as embouchure,
mutes, and cases).
ABRSM Jazz Trumpet Course
(excellent and brand new course, taking you through a range of jazz styles
and techniques, starting at Grade One. Great choice of pieces, including
swing, ballads, ska and funk. Comes with very good playalong CDs. Written
by jazzers! Highly recommended).
Peter Wastall Learn As You Play Trumpet & Cornet
(classic beginner’s guide, taking you through exercises and well-chosen,
mainly classical, pieces. A good way of learning how to read music too).
Allen Vizutti Trumpet Method Books 1-3
(don’t be put off by his 1970s pencil moustache! These are intensive,
accessible, and very useful books of studies & exercises for the
intermediate and advanced player).
Hal Crook How To Improvise
(if you’re serious about improvising, this is ‘the bible’:
a week-by-week, hour-by-hour approach. Not for the faint-hearted, but
very impressive).
Mark Levine The Jazz Theory Book
(the best book I’ve come across about jazz theory. Big, clear,
well-written, and full of excellent tips).
10 Miles Davis Classics (Jazz Playalong series, Volume 2)
(Well, Miles is my touchstone as far as the trumpet goes, and this is
a good starting-point if you want to get with him. Ten tracks from
the 1950s, some ‘easy’, some hard, with a fine playalong
CD)
Recommended listens:
Hard to know where to start! So, in no particular order, here are a few of my personal favourite trumpet-players:
MILES DAVIS
The master! Proved beyond doubt that less is definitely more. What a
sound! Not only that, but he reinvented jazz at least half-a-dozen
times in his life. Try ‘Relaxin’’ (jazz standards
with the lightest of touches), ‘Milestones’ (swinging album
of classic bop) ,‘Kind of Blue’ (gorgeous melancholic ‘modal’ jazz), ‘Sketches
of Spain’ (orchestral-flamenco-jazz), ‘In A Silent Way’ (the
birth of ambient music), ‘Bitches Brew’ (outrageously dark
and funky), ‘We Want Miles’ (a very funky live album), ‘Tutu’ (1980s
electro-funk), etc etc etc.
CHET BAKER
The sweetest of players (though not of people!) – a complete natural,
who played by ear and phrased like an angel. And he could sing. Loads
of “Best Of” compilations available, most of them mid-price.
DON CHERRY
Famous for playing a tiny pocket cornet, Cherry was a real one-off: a
musical nomad who helped invent ‘world music’ by incorporating
elements of African, Asian, and European music into jazz. A genuine
free spirit. Try his album “Multikulti” or any of the albums
by Codona (his unique world-jazz-trio).
LEE MORGAN
One of the funkiest players in classic jazz. Try “The Sidewinder” or
check out his great solo on Art Blakey’s “Moanin’”.
Also see: Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Roy Hargrove, Clifford Brown.
ALSO:
Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Booker Little, Arve Henriksen, Jon
Hassell, Ron Miles, Dave Douglas, Lester Bowie, Nils Petter-Molvaer,
Gerard Presencer, Byron Wallen, Kenny Wheeler, Erik Truffaz, etc etc
etc
Apart from the jazz world, there’s great trumpet-playing to be heard in lots of other musical styles, eg:
SKA
(anything by The Skatalites; check out also Jazz Jamaica, who are a fantastic
British jazz-ska big band)
CLASSICAL MUSIC
(of course! A lot of Baroque music was written for brass ensembles, and
the trumpet has always been a prominent instrument in orchestral settings,
from Bach to Mahler and beyond)
WORLD MUSIC (Klezmer music, which is instrumental Jewish music heavily influenced by Eastern European music, often features fantastic trumpet-playing – check out anything by The Klezmatics, for instance. Also, there’s a great tradition of brass bands in E Europe, especially Macedonia and Serbia – raucous high-energy stuff – terrific!)
BRITISH BRASS BAND MUSIC
(the home of the cornet. A unique sound, as documented in the film “Brassed
Off”, and still the breeding-ground for some of our best brass
players).
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