I first met Ryan Dolan on a lecture/performing tour in Detroit earlier this year. He was a guest artist on the Harrelson Trumpets night hosted by the Gary Greenfelder Orchestra. When he took to the stage I was quite literally, blown away... and so were the others seated near me. I turned to one guy and said... wow he sounds amazing. He replied, so, that's Ryan Dolan... he subs for me a lot but I've never met him. Ryan isn't the most boastful of fellas and so at that meeting I didn't even know he was in the Third Coast Kings. Much to my surprise they are taking the world by storm. Here's a little interview I did with Ryan about his music, the band and what lies ahead... How long have you been playing the trumpet? / What made you decide to go into music / How did you start out? I started playing trumpet as a tiny 10 year old. I was very small for my age and could barely hold the thing up. I was the worst of our three trumpet players and our first band director was not very passionate about his job to say the least. (He would just put on the movie Amadeus out of the blue whenever he didn’t feel like teaching.) After 6th grade, we moved over to the High School building which had a combined Junior High & High School band made up of 7th to 12th grade with a newly hired Band Director, Brian Roelandt. This is where it all changed. They could have based the script for the film Mr Holland’s Opus on those years. When he started there was one small concert band of about 30 kids and he grew the meagre program into 2 concert bands, a 90+ person marching band, a full jazz band, and a music appreciation course, all in a school of around 400 students. I still remember sitting down for that first rehearsal: Someone in the school entered my name into the system as ‘Nolan, Ryan’ (Nolan Ryan was a famous Detroit Tiger at the time) and I was so shy I didn't’ even correct it. The first thing we tried to play as a band was the High School Fight Song. It was in cut-time, which I had never even heard of. The music was probably pretty simple, but at the time it looked impossible. After a few days I went to talk to Mr. Roelandt after school to tell him I was quitting. Instead, he gave me my first actual one-on-one lesson and after a few minutes of talking about some basics I had never been taught, my tone opened up and I was playing a high D above the staff. It was a eureka moment for me. The next day he brought me in a mix-tape with some Maynard Ferguson & Louie Armstrong on it and I was hooked. That day changed the path of my whole life. I could have quit that day, and maybe never looked back. Who are some of your musical influences and why? When I was growing up it was Doc Severinsen. My parents took me to see him with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra when I was just starting out and I was blown away. He played Carnival of Venice and Flight of the Bumble Bee and all kinds of really impressive show pieces, all in one of his crazy suits. After intermission it was all pop and big band music. I remember being really impressed even at that age that someone could be so good at what seemed like two different things. Is music your full time job? The occasional bank heist helps pay the bills. Were you born and raised in Detroit? I was born in Detroit, my parents moved next door to Harper Woods when I was just starting school. I moved to Ypsilanti to study with Carter Eggers at Eastern Michigan University and grew roots and have been here ever since. What's the music scene like in Detroit? Detroit’s music scene is in flux. There is a healthy roster of fantastic musicians, but fewer and fewer places for them to play. The city is going through hell right now, but the arts seem to be weathering the storm better than other sectors. There are still great venues that have music on any given night. If you know where to look you can sometimes find secret parties where upwards of a thousand people are in attendance, often in a warehouse building or industrial space with live music going on and on into the morning. Tell me about Third Coast Kings... how long have you been with the band? We are an old school funk band and we play what we call ‘Deep Funk’. Think dusty 45s, B-sides, and gritty instrumentals. We want to be so pure to the funk style that when people who haven’t heard of us listen for the first time they assume it was recorded in the 70s. I’ve been with the band since our first show almost 8 years ago now. We just released our 2nd album on the Record Kicks label called West Grand Boulevard So... you're going to Japan!? How did that happen? Where are you going to be? It is really exciting to go back on tour. We were invited to play at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2012 and it was really a dream come true for all of us. It is huge music festival in the mountains and the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. It was like a dream, you could walk out of a crowd of 50,000 people watching Radiohead and cross a stream where every rock has a smiley face painted on it into woods where there are giant eyeball balloons in the trees to make them look like cartoon characters and then stumble into a carnival where there are giant robot monsters made out of Volkswagen Beetles. This time we are excited to play in the city, which is just as magical as the festival. We will be at Club Quatro in the Shibuya district of Tokyo September 25th, and the Shangri-la in Osaka on the 27th. Do you guys have a lot of recordings? Where can we find them? We just released our 2nd album on the Record Kicks Label called West Grand Boulevard. Both our albums are available on Vinyl, CD, and digital and we also have a couple of 45s and a few other exclusive tracks on some Record Kicks compilations, as well as several music videos, which can be found on youtube. (links: http://recordkicks.bandcamp.com/album/west-grand-boulevard http://recordkicks.bandcamp.com/album/west-grand-boulevard https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/west-grand-boulevard/id849941470 ) Do you write music? I have written a couple songs for TCK, now we compose all of our material as a group. When you're not playing with TCK what kind of other playing do you do? I play in some swing dance groups, occasionally play musicals, do freelance recording, and I sub in with many of the bands in the area. I also just enjoy practicing on my own and working on etudes and other trumpety stuff. What else is in the works for you in the coming year? Lots of plans! We are working on a European tour for this fall, we have another music video in the planning phase and have a ton of shows booked for this year, from Ann Arbor to London to Tokyo. What's your current gig schedule like? We are on the move, and busy.. We have shows all over the place this summer. We are booked more than 30 shows out right now and are already getting some bookings for 2015. Musical highlight of your year? Getting my new Harrelson Summit One! Releasing an album that we worked so hard on is what I’m most proud of, but really I am just excited to travel the world playing music with my best friends. What do you listen to when you're not recording/performing? What's in your cd player? Some bands I’ve been into lately are Slavic Soul Party, Orange then Blue, Kashmere Stage Band, Onda Vaga, Snarky Puppy & NO BS. If your trumpet were an animal which animal would it be? Probably something like my dog, Watson, They are both high energy, loud, really excitable, and friendly…. but I’m still not sure I trust either of them....
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I had the thought yesterday that my world is expanding and shrinking at the same time. I am spending the month of June in Spain... it started out as a sort of sabbatical... to spend time with my own thoughts... my camera... my paints... and to feel truly out of my element. All of that has already happened and I have only been here for a few short days. After I started to plot my time here we started realizing there are a few clients here in Spain that it would be fun to reach out to. So, I am splitting my time here up with some Harrelson Trumpets client meetings... the first of which are happening this weekend in Madrid. We have two clients in Madrid with gigs this weekend... Jorge Vistral & Josep Siankope. I am going to both shows and bringing my new beautiful Harrelson Trumpet along for the ride. So, if you're reading this and you happen to be Harrelson curious, like great music and can get to Madrid you should come out!!! Saturday, June 06 @ 10:30pm - at Bogui, Madrid w/ Jorge Vistral http://www.boguijazz.com/Programacion.htm and... Sunday, June 07 @ 7:30pm - at Espacio Ronda, Madrid w/ Joseph Siankope http://espacioronda.com/ I am really looking forward to meeting both of these guys and taking in some great music. I am also really excited for the train ride to Madrid. I love riding on the train... I have taken the Empire Builder from Minneapolis more times than I can count... the last time I did it alone and really loved watching the sun come up with my coffee in hand across the fields of North Dakota. I sat there in silence for hours... eventually a gentleman next to me said... see anything good. Yes, I did. About 50 deer, pheasants, old barns, tons of cattle and one adorable calf... I like watching the world wake up... it's even more fun to speed past it on a train. Plus! this is the AVE High Speed Train... which reaches top speeds of almost 200mph. All I can say is WHOA. I am in for a new experience. Speaking of new experiences... pretty much everything I have done since I've been here has been new. Last night I went to hear Pedro Javier Gonzalez play flamenco guitar at the Basilica Santa Maria del Pi... ya... never thought I would say that. It was beautiful. And, speaking of beautiful... check out Barcelona! I love New Orleans. It's the only city I would consider leaving Minneapolis for. It was pretty much love at first sight. And smell. It is music. Living, breathing, laughing, dancing... music. I have never seen a city so alive. We are lucky enough to attend The Satchmo Summerfest every year. We donated a Satchmo Trumpet two years ago to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to French Quarter Festivals. And, Jason is building a NEW one of a kind Satchmo Trumpet again this year to be auctioned. I am very excited to see what a beautiful instrument that will be. But that's not what I want to talk about today. It's just how we came to return each year to a city we love so much. Last year we learned of an organization called The Roots of Music. They are working hard to keep music alive for the children of the city. And now, we are going to help. We're calling on our network of musicians and friends to help us fill a wish list for instrument donations. And I know we can do this and more... "The Roots of Music fills a void in music education programs in New Orleans schools. Marching bands were once an integral part of New Orleans middle schools, but many schools discontinued their music programs for this age group after Katrina. Today, The Roots of Music serves over 100 students, making up a full marching band that has successfully paraded the city since Mardi Gras 2009.
Our program provides music history and theory as well as instrumental instruction and ensemble performance preparation. We also provide academic tutoring, mentoring and homework assistance. We serve kids ages 9-14 from low-income households — and to reduce common barriers to participation for this population, we also provide our students with round-trip transportation and a hot meal 5 days a week, 12 months a year. Participation in The Roots of Music is free for all students. Program hours are Monday through Thursday 4-7pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm. The program is located in the heart of the French Quarter at The Cabildo, a Louisiana State Museum property in Jackson Square." We'd like to call on our network of brass players to help put instruments in the hands of the people that really need them. We all know someone that has an instrument sitting in their closet collecting dust. We hope that by creating enough momentum in our network of teachers, players and music lovers we can fill the needs of this organization. Their current wish list is as follows: 40 Trumpets 15 Mellophones 10 Marching Baritones 10 Euphoniums 10 Trombones 6 Tenor Saxophones 10 Alto Saxophones 10 Clarinets 4 Piccolo Flutes 10 Sousaphones All brass and woodwind mouthpieces We will personally collect and service these instruments at the Harrelson Shops in Minneapolis and Denver and hand deliver them at Satchmo Summerfest this August in New Orleans. To learn more about this amazing organization you can visit their website here: http://therootsofmusic.org/ If you don't have an instrument to donate but still would like to help out... you can do so by making a donation directly to them on their website here: http://therootsofmusic.org/donate/ Please pass this on to your network of band directors, musician friends and teacher... together I know we can exceed their goal... one instrument at a time. If you have any questions about donating or logistics please feel free to contact us at harrelsontrumpets@gmail.com or 651-330-7774. The deadline for donations is mid July. Satchmo Summerfest is July 31-August 3 and it's a fantastic event! For more information on attending the festival... visit their website: http://fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest And because New Orleans is a magical musical city... this event is always FREE and open to the public. I love New Orleans. It's the only city I would consider leaving Minneapolis for. It was pretty much love at first sight. And smell. It is music. Living, breathing, laughing, dancing... music. I have never seen a city so alive. We are lucky enough to attend The Satchmo Summerfest every year. We donated a Satchmo Trumpet two years ago to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to French Quarter Festivals. And, Jason is building a NEW one of a kind Satchmo Trumpet again this year to be auctioned off. I am very excited to see what a beautiful instrument that will be. But that's not what I want to talk about today. It'ts just how we came to return each year to a city we love so much. Last year we learned of an organization called The Roots of Music. They are working hard to keep music alive for the children of the city. And now, we are going to help. We're calling on our network of musicians and friends to help us fill a wish list for instrument donations. And I know we can do this and more... "The Roots of Music fills a void in music education programs in New Orleans schools. Marching bands were once an integral part of New Orleans middle schools, but many schools discontinued their music programs for this age group after Katrina. Today, The Roots of Music serves over 100 students, making up a full marching band that has successfully paraded the city since Mardi Gras 2009.
Our program provides music history and theory as well as instrumental instruction and ensemble performance preparation. We also provide academic tutoring, mentoring and homework assistance. We serve kids ages 9-14 from low-income households — and to reduce common barriers to participation for this population, we also provide our students with round-trip transportation and a hot meal 5 days a week, 12 months a year. Participation in The Roots of Music is free for all students. Program hours are Monday through Thursday 4-7pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm. The program is located in the heart of the French Quarter at The Cabildo, a Louisiana State Museum property in Jackson Square." We'd like to call on our network of brass players to help put instruments in the hands of the people that really need them. We all know someone that has an instrument sitting in their closet collecting dust. We hope that by creating enough momentum in our network of teachers, players and music lovers we can fill the needs of this organization. Their current wish list is as follows: 40 Trumpets 15 Mellophones 10 Marching Baritones 10 Euphoniums 10 Trombones 6 Tenor Saxophones 10 Alto Saxophones 10 Clarinets 4 Piccolo Flutes 10 Sousaphones All brass and woodwind mouthpieces We will personally collect and service these instruments at the Harrelson Shops in Minneapolis and Denver and hand deliver them at Satchmo Summerfest this August in New Orleans. To learn more about this amazing organization you can visit their website here: http://therootsofmusic.org/ If you don't have an instrument to donate but still would like to help out... you can do so by making a donation directly to them on their website here: http://therootsofmusic.org/donate/ Please pass this on to your network of band directors, musician friends and teacher... together I know we can exceed their goal... one instrument at a time. If you have any questions about donating or logistics please feel free to contact us at harrelsontrumpets@gmail.com or 651-330-7774. The deadline for donations is mid July. Satchmo Summerfest is July 31-August 3 and it's a fantastic event! For more information on attending the festival... visit their website: http://fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest And because New Orleans is a magical musical city... this even is always FREE and open to the public. There is never a dull moment around here... ever. We are in constant motion. We strive to innovate and deliver personal service. It is what sets us apart from most other manufacturers. We are, by design, a small company. Most of our clients know us by name... and we meet a larger percentage of them in person. Sometimes before their trumpets are built... or, as was the case on our trip to Detroit, sometimes they show up at a lecture or conference years later to introduce themselves. It is so much fun to be a part of something like this. I love watching our instruments in the hands of the people that really appreciate them. And I love watching Jason build each trumpet with so much care and attention to detail. His perfectionism isn't that much fun in some situations... or at least it hasn't always been... but in regards to trumpet building... I would say it suits him just fine. The work he does is simply beautiful and bordering on genius. The machining aspect behind his work is like a cut away to his mathematical mad scientist brain. It is this aspect of his personality that I have always found fascinating. He also works harder than anyone I have ever met. We are such a small company... in total we are 4 now. We take pride and joy in the things we have built with our own two hands and our hearts. I can truly say that everyone here works very hard. We all do the work of at least 2 people. Sometimes we joke about cloning Jason... and how it would solve so many problems... but I don't think there will ever be another one like him. We are all working even harder than normal from now until the end of the month. We leave Minneapolis for the International Trumpet Guild Conference on May 19th. We are very excited to showcase some of the most amazing horns built in the history of this company. Personally... I am very excited for MY Summit Trumpet that I will be bringing with me to show. Right now it's at plating... and I haven't even seen it yet. I have been with this company since day one... or maybe it's best to say... since before it existed... and this is my first Harrelson Trumpet. Jason hand carved the trim and leadpipe... I haven't seen it assembled yet... only a few pictures here and there... but it is truly going to be a work of art. We will also have several other demos and horns for sale at the conference. We are going to be bringing at the very least the following instruments... We may add a few more in the coming weeks... but we're excited to show you these:
Summit Midnight w/ Black Lacquer Summit 2/5 with Clear Lacquer and Copper Bell Summit One Custom (Mine) in Brushed Silver Jason's Summit One in Silver Summit 4/11x in Clear Lacquer Summit C in Silver Summit Bb Demo (pre AGR design) Of course we will also have the AGR, Gap Solution Kits, Trim and our normal Harrelson Swag... Shirts and Stickers in tow. Stop by and say hello and try out these beauties. If you're interested in meeting up for dinner or drinks or to simply nerd out about trumpets... don't hesitate to send me an email: jenniferdsandquist@gmail.com This is our favorite event of the year. And we can't wait!!! See you there!!! "We Strive to Keep Music Live" Earlier this year Jason and I took a trip to Detroit to put on a series of lectures. Gary Greenfelder welcomed us into his home and his town to us with open arms. Jason and other Harrelson Trumpets clients were asked to be guest soloists with Gary's big band... It was an overwhelming success and we had so much fun. Gary (and the trumpet players he knows in the Detroit area) have an enthusiasm for their instrument that is contagious. I don't think I had one conversation that weekend that didn't have something to do with music or trumpet... but that's why I am in this business... here's what Gary had to say about his latest projects. Thanks again Gary for hosting us and showing us around town. How long have you been playing the trumpet? I started playing trumpet in the fourth grade and fell in love almost immediately! I started studying privately in the fifth grade and was one of the lucky grade school students to be brought in to other local schools that need additional support at concerts! This was great fun and especially when we were excused from daily classes to play at school day concerts. Ahhhh... the good ol’ days! What made you decide to go into music / how did you start out? Actually I had no intention of going into music until the summer that I graduated from high school. I was enrolled for electrical engineering and decide to jump ship mid-summer to music performance. Mid semester my third year of school I had the opportunity to go on the road with a show band travelling the east coast of the USA. I did that for 1 -1/2 years and then decided to move to Los Angeles to be a free-lance studio player. I moved to LA in 1979 and the music industry was just starting to slow down for horn players. After 3 years, I decided to go back to school for accounting and keep music as my passion. In 1983, I moved back to the Detroit area and went back to school to become a CPA. A few year later I got involved with a big band that is now The Gary Greenfelder Orchestra! Never planned to be a band leader, but it has changed my life… for the better! If you weren't a trumpet player... which instrument would you play and why? Huh.... I can't imagine playing anything but trumpet! I guess it may be piano, which I still hope to learn someday... I need to make time for this! Piano is truly an orchestra within itself! Who are some of your musical influences and why? Well, I must say that I'm rather mainstream...... like many trumpet players, I fell in love with Maynard Ferguson, not just for his high notes, but for his unique sound, energy and ability to keep moving forward in an ever changing world. Plus he was such a great mentor to so many players! Next would be Freddie Hubbard... the coolest trumpet player around in my books! Of course there are many others too...... Harry James, Bobby Shew, Winton Marsalis, Uan Rasey, Arturo Sandoval, Chuck Mangione, Maurice Andre, Alison Balsom, Tine Thing, etc..... All of these players influence how I approach playing the many styles of music that I perform. Is music your full time job? Do you want it to be? Music has not been my full time job... I just couldn't take the risk financially. During my time in LA, I realized one thing, I love playing music too much to put the strain of a career on top of that. Now, I have 4 groups that I lead, GGO (Gary Greenfelder Orchestra), GQ Jazz Ensemble (Jazz Quintet, 2 horns), GQ Music Ensemble (3 horn - different music from quintet), and DRBQ (Dynamic Resonance Brass Quintet). All of these groups perform live gigs and help to satisfy all of my musical tastes! While I do not see music as a financially rewarding career, I am lucky enough to not have to worry about that anymore. So, I can take my groups on the never ending journey of continuous improvement, with the goal of play as many live gigs as we can find. What fun this is for me! Do you write a lot of music? I have never written music. There is so much music out there that I love to play that I never took the time to develop this skill. Someday I may! What type of performing are you doing right now? My Big Band performs twice a month at CLUB 54, for a few years now. This gig has been great fun and helps to improve the music we play! We also play Weddings, Corporate Events, and Concerts and are working to start doing clinics at local schools to encourage the younger generation to keep this music going. What's the music "scene' like in Detroit? The music scene in Detroit has always been good, let me define this! There are so many great musicians in this area, it’s hard to believe there aren't more musical opportunities for these great musicians. That being said, there are quite a few live music venues throughout this area. The problem is the pay for most of these is not very good, especially the Bars and Lounges... However, I have seen an increase is opportunities for Wedding and Corporate events in the past 6 months or so. I am hopeful that I can get all of my groups working regularly! What's genres/types of music are being performed live most often in the area? There are many types of music: Rock, Oldies, R&B, Jazz, some Big Band, new music. Frankly, I spend most of my time developing my group and don't get out much to see all that is going on here. I know there are lots of group playing regularly around town. Tell me about the GGO. Gary Greenfelder Orchestra (formerly One Beat Back) was the first big band I got involved with after finishing college and starting my CPA career. It started in 1991 with 3 partners. When I joined the group one left and they asked me to be a partner. Eventually the other two original partners both left and I started running the band myself. After some hard thought, I decided to change the name of the band to GGO. It made sense because many client couldn't remember the name of the band and did not associate the band with me. Plus by this time I had moved from lead trumpet to fronting the band. I never thought or even considered being a band leader.... but it has been a great ride and I hope it goes on for many years to come! We have great fun playing together and I keep adding new music to our library.... I just finished putting together out 5th book of music! Each book has about 220 to 250 charts, so we have lots of music and we just keep learning more. www.ggmusicentertainment.com/ If you could share the stage with anyone... who would it be? Wow.... never thought of that! With the big band at CLUB 54, I have had the honor of playing with many great musicians from this area.... and the list just keeps growing! So that said, I think Walter White would be at the top of that list! Not because I'm that good, but because we are sending a great message..... big band music is awesome!! We have already talked a bit, so I am hoping this will happen sometime soon!! We just keep growing our audience at CLUB 54 and that tells the story for us! What else is in the works for you in the coming year? Well, I am not trying to conquer the world, so for me, it will be creating a new website, adding new video and audio music and giving the site a completely new look. The goal is simple..... more Wedding and Corporate Events! Other than that, it will be business as usual.... keeping our music better than it was last week!! What's your current gig schedule like? Where can we see you play? The only group I currently have playing regularly is GGO at CLUB 54. Actually this 3 hour gig twice a month with guest artists and vocalists takes considerable time, as we are always adding new music to this venue. My second goal for this year is to get the new GQ Music Ensemble up and running. With this group, I am working to have a good mix of Jazz, Standards and R&B to create a group with a wider musical appeal. We may take this group to CLUB 54 for a twice a month event soon. Musical highlight of your career so far? Wish I had something with which to impress all of you!! lol The highlight of my musical career is leading 4 groups and finding a path to allow other musicians (and myself) to satisfy their dreams of taking music to the next level! Hopefully, my musical highlight is somewhere in the future yet! If your trumpet were an animal which animal would it be? That's easy........ a chameleon! I am not looking to create new music or even a new trumpet sound! I play the music of other greats, from Harry James to Arturo Sandoval, from Maurice Andre to Chuck Mangione! I am playing a broad array of music that hopefully has my own unique sound... let's say..... a touch of Gary Greenfelder. What do you listen to... when you're not practicing or performing? What's in your cd player? I listen mostly to the music that I perform or hope to perform sometime. Currently: Count Basie, Arturo Sandoval, Alison Balsom, Bobby Shew, Jack Sheldon, Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, Jim Rotundi, Patrick Williams (big band), Tom Kubis, etc.... Where do you hope your music will take you in the future? I believe I have already said it.... to the next level (continuous improvement) is always my goal. I am not trying to make some big name for myself.... I'm trying to promote the music I love to play so others may learn to love it as I have. I've known Jake Baldwin for years. I love the fact that every time I see him, I feel like he's on the verge of something new. Jake and his friends in RaRaRu have a new CD that comes out tomorrow! I asked him to tell me a little more about it and what he's up to these days... Tell me about Ra Ra Ru. Ra Ra Ru essentially started as a rebellion against jazz school in 2011. I don't mean jazz school as in that specific school, but more so the way some players go about music and give off a "jazz school" vibe. Some people are just stuck in the 50's. Anyway, while there is a definite time and place for that, bassist Pat Kuehn, drummer Nick Neuburg, and myself were sick of it. One night after a particularly frustrating jam session, we got together ad agreed to just make music that we liked and see where it went. Initially, everything we did was just improvised, but as we got to know each other's playing better, trends and melodies started to appear. The resulting songs were a product of our three personalities and very different musical backgrounds merging. As time went on, longtime friend of mine and fellow Minnesotan John Cushing began attending the New England Conservatory and was an obvious addition to the band on trombone. Lastly, I ran into and started playing with guitarist Asher Kurtz by chance, but it was one of those meeting where you know you and the other person could do great things together, so Asher joined the band recently and is on the recording. The ultimate goal of Ra Ra Ru is to make good music that has interesting melodies, enough freedom to be different every time, and most of all to have fun with music. I really think we have accomplished that with this record. When does the new album come out?
The album "Metallic Ink Co" comes out April 28th What's it like? Like I said before, since everyone in the band contributed at least one song to this album, it goes a lot of places. There are some grooves, some really free sections, some unexpected moments, and some downright silly moments. Where can we buy it? It will be available for download from Bandcamp, other major download sites, through our label Electricity is magic (http://electricityismagic.com/) and I will also have some physical copies that I will sell at shows and through my website (jakebjazz.com) Is there a CD Release show? There is going to be one. It will be a house party type situation in Boston, MA, on May 3. If you're in the area, send me an email for details... Any other recordings coming out this year? Under my own name, no. I am however, on a lot of recordings that will be out. Part of my job as a freelance musician is to do studio work, which I love. The main project that I'm looking forward to hearing the final product of, is the Love Experiment. It's this 11 piece neo-soul collective based out of New York that I'm a part of. I've been going back once every three months or so to record more, and so far the record sounds crazy Do you write a lot of your own music? Where can we hear some of it. I do a lot of writing yes. For me it kind of comes in waves, where I'll go months without writing a tune and then write three in a day. I try to keep some current recordings up on my website jakebjazz.com and also on my soundcoud page: https://soundcloud.com/jake-baldwin-1 How long have you been playing the trumpet? I started the trumpet when I was 10, so it's been 13 ears now. What made you decide to go into music / how did you start out? That's a tough question. I guess music was always such a part of my life that it seemed like the natural choice. Nobody in my family is a professional musician, but everyone is very musical in some sense of the word. I don't remember ever not having music on when my family was home growing up. Also, because I was aways surrounded by a really wide range of music, practicing ever seemed like a chore to me since most of my "practicing" would be me trying to play along to the various songs my Dad had on. In terms of getting started out, I've always been lucky enough to have teachers and mentors who have provided tremendous support beyond the call of duty whenever I needed it. The man who fueled my love of music initially was my middle school band director in the little town of Florence, Oregon. His name is Shannon Dickey, and the man is a saint. He got so much talent out of that tiny school, it's bonkers. There was another trumpeter there, Kai Sandoval (who ironically was the only other jazz trumpeter in my year when we later attended the New England Conservatory after not seeing each other for years), and Mr. Dickey would always pit us against each other, but he also always came up with ways to make us work together. It was that competitive spirit with emphasis on teamwork, that got me all the opportunities that I've had to this day. Is music your full time job? Do you want it to be? In a sense. All of the jobs that I've had since entering "adult life" or whatever you want to call it, have been music, or more specifically, trumpet related. Performing will always be my passion and hopefully the only thing that I do someday. Luckily for me, I'm a huge trumpet nerd and love all things involved with trumpet. This has lead me to some really cool opportunities job wise. At one point I was fortunate enough to work at Harrelson Trumpets where I got to watch Jason Harrelson design and build beautiful trumpets all day long. This job actually helped my trumpet playing immensely because Jason taught me so much about how the trumpet, as a machine, works. I honestly feel like acoustical physics should be something they teach music majors. Once you REALLY know how your horn works, a lot of things become a whole lot easier to fix. I currently work for Torpedo Bags trumpet cases and love that job because I get to talk to people about trumpet on the phone all day. On top of that, I do a fair amount of teaching, but my main gig is performing. A lot of the performance work I do is freelancing, so one night I could be playing polka and the next night I might be playing with a salsa band. It keeps things fresh. Of course, I do a lot of work on my own music, but right now I'm in a phase where I'm building up an idea of what I really want "my" sound to be. What type of performing are you doing right now around the twin cities? Every kind of music imaginable. You name it, I've played it since being back. Minneapolis has such a rich arts and music scene, and becoming a part of that has really kept me on toes. It's really nice for me though because it has given me so much to practice that I can then bring to my own music. What else is in the works for you in the coming year? Well, if I were to be really ambitious, I would say an album of the music I've been working on lately. This stuff is a lot more minimalist and more folky. I've been trying to focus on just writing melodies and worrying less about improvising. Honestly though, who knows. My passions and tastes seem to change like the weather. I also play to get records out of two new groups I've a member of. One is a group where I'm using a lot of electronics, which is new territory for me. We call ourselves Friends of Noam Chomsky. Let's hope we can get a record together for you soon. What's your current gig schedule like? Where can we see you play? April 28th: With No Coast Quintet at the Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN 9:30pm May 2nd: with Love Experiment at the Harvard Arts Festival in Cambridge, MA at 5pm May 3rd: Ra Ra Ru CD RELEASE PARTY in Jamaica Plain, MA (E-mail for details) May 5th: Featured Artist at Jazz Central w/ B3 Organ Trio. Jazz Central, Minneapolis, MN 8:30pm June 27th: With Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra at the Twin Cities Jazz Fest, St. Paul, MN 7pm I try to keep this updated on my website as well. Sometimes I'm a little behind on posting stuff because, well, because life. But being too busy is certainly better than being bored. If your trumpet were an animal which animal would it be? I'd have to say polar bear. I say this because the trumpet is a beautiful instrument to look at, but some days it just hunts you down and eats you alive. What do you listen to... when you're not practicing or performing? What's in your CD Player? Oh man, that's tough. I could talk for hours about all of the albums in my record pile currently, but let's keep it simple and I'll just list what's in m car currently. Like Clockwork - Queens of the Stoneage Bowser - Jonwayne Candy - Lee Morgan Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol Illmatic - Nas Give the People What They Want - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings And in the tape deck I currently have: Les Stances a Sophie - Art Ensemble of Chicago Where do you hope your music will take you in the next 5 years? My ultimate goal is to travel around the world making music. It could be my music or someone else's. Either way I'm just grateful for the opportunities I've been given so far and hope to continue moving forward. And in the spirit of moving forward... if you'd like to see Jake play tonight... he will be performing with No Coast Quintet at ICEHOUSE in Minneapolis. A great venue with cute little cocktails and a balcony perch, the best place to take it all in. I can't wait to get my copy of Metallic Ink Co. (I have a feeling the clever title is just the beginning) "It would be one of those house cats that just loves to be pet to the point of purring and closing its eyes, only to all of a sudden bite and kick with it’s back legs. Sweet but with a dark side!" Cindy Bradley is and has been taking the Smooth Jazz world by storm for quite some time. She was named "New Artist of the Year" in 2011 by the Contemporary Jazz Awards - Her latest project "Bliss" will be released May 27th and after the success of her last album Unscripted, which reached #1 on Billboards Album Chart for 2 weeks straight... I can't wait to hear what she's got for us now. I caught up with her earlier this week... she's a busy lady so it was great to catch her quick for a short interview. She has a full performing schedule this year in addition to her CD Release. For more information check out her website:
http://www.cindybradley.com/ How long have you been playing the trumpet? I have been playing the trumpet since I was in 4th grade. I started out playing the piano when I was 5. When it was time to sign up for a band instrument at school I forgot to bring my permission slip home to my parents. The teacher actually sought me out the day they were due because she knew I played the piano and liked music. She told me that I could be in the band but I had to circle the instrument I wanted to play right then and there. I circled the trumpet randomly because I wasn’t sure what most of the other instruments were! What made you decide to go into music / how did you start out? I played trumpet all throughout school but always wanted to go into medicine. When I got into middle school I joined a swing band that was outside of school and involved lots of kids from throughout the community (the group was called “Sugar & Jazz” and still exists in Buffalo to this day). That group made me fall in love with the trumpet. I loved swing music and loved to improvise. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I decided I had to go to school for music though. When faced with the decision of what to study in college I felt I should do what I really loved. If you weren't a trumpet player... which instrument would you play and why? I actually play a few instruments and studied double bass from 7th grade on. I went to college and was going to be a jazz double bass minor. The college work was too rigorous for me to keep up on two instruments though, so I stopped playing the bass. I absolutely love it and would definitely want to be a bass player if I didn’t play trumpet. Who are some of your musical influences? I love hard bop trumpet players and have studied their playing quite extensively. Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Blue Mitchell, and especially Lee Morgan. They have had the biggest influence on my trumpet playing. I’ve always been a huge Oscar Peterson fan as well. Is music your full time job? Do you want it to be? Besides the performing and recording I do as a musician, I am also a full time band teacher in an elementary school in New Jersey. I love teaching music as much as I love playing it. As long as I can continue to balance my two careers, I would never give up either. Tell me your thoughts about being one of the highest profile women in the "boys club" of trumpet playing. Whenever a woman is in a male dominated field it comes with a unique set of experiences. Being a female trumpet player has both helped and hindered my career at different times. There have certainly been gigs that I was given that were then taken away when someone found out the horn player was a woman (usually because they were convinced a woman couldn’t play hard enough or well enough), or gigs I couldn’t get in the first place because someone was not willing to hire a woman. However, I have also been seen as a bit of a novelty due to the fact that there are less woman doing what I do. I know it helped me to get a record deal, and I know there are promoters that book me on their festivals because they believe people will buy tickets to see a woman play trumpet because they may have not seen that before. To be successful I believe women have to prove themselves a bit more, and work very hard. There will always be people that will treat someone like me unfairly, as well as those that embrace a woman that plays well. I’ve found there are many more people that embrace me and I’m happy for that. Do you write a lot of music? I do write a lot of music at this point in my life, mostly due to my recording career. In the past I used to feel like musicians either spent most of their time mastering playing their instruments, or composing for many hours a day. It’s people that naturally do both well that I find amazing. Playing was something I always worked at and enjoyed. Writing took me longer to improve at and I found it takes just as much dedication in order to learn to do it well. I still work very hard at getting to be a better and better writer. What type of performing are you doing right now? Most of the performing I do at this point is with my own show. I play at a lot of smooth jazz festivals and different jazz clubs around the world. I know you have a new album coming out ... your last album “Unscripted” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Album Chart... what can we look forward to with your new album "Bliss"... Unscripted was recorded during a very difficult time in my life. I was dealing with a lot of illness within my family, and the loss of people I loved. I poured a lot of that emotion into Unscripted and I think it explores a certain mood that I couldn’t turn away from when I was making the album. Things in my life are wonderful at the moment and “Bliss” is a reflection of that. There are still fun, funky tracks as well as more moody and beautiful ones, but they are more in the spirit of life and love. It’s being released on May 27th of this year and I’m really excited about it! I see you just got back from the Palm Springs Women's Jazz Festival... tell me about it. The Palm Spring’s Women’s Jazz Fest was quite an experience. I love to see female musicians playing together and doing it well – and this was a full weekend of exactly that. I performed with some friends of mine in the group “Jazz in Pink.” It was a really unique experience that I think was wonderful for people to see and for me to be a part of. What else is in the works for you in the coming year? Since my new cd is about to be released, I will be focused on doing a lot of touring to promote the album. There are still many places I haven’t played and I look forward to checking them off of my musical bucket list. I’m also currently recording on several other artists’ cds, including a track for Paul Hardcastle. Besides music, I’m doing a lot more volunteer work for different animal causes, including working at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary when I have free days during the summer. That’s another one of my loves in life. What's your current gig schedule like? Where can we see you play? More and more shows are coming in for 2014 but I am currently scheduled to perform in Sacramento, Winnipeg, Panama City Beach, San Antonio, Atlanta, and some others. You can always stay up to date on where I will be by visiting cindybradley.com Musical highlight of your career? It is difficult for me to pick just one, but the one that comes to mind would have to be my first big solo jazz show. I had just gotten signed to Trippin’ N’ Rhythm records and my first cd was finished. I got booked to play at the Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival and the record label president, Les Cutmore, along with the vice president, were coming to see my show. My parents also flew across the country to see me perform and they hadn’t seen me play in a very long time. I felt so much pressure and hadn’t really done a show full of my own music before. The show turned out great and I was so relieved that I always consider that a highlight of my career. All the people that believed in me were there in the same room, and I really didn’t want to disappoint them! If your trumpet were an animal which animal would it be? It would be one of those house cats that just loves to be pet to the point of purring and closing its eyes, only to all of a sudden bite and kick with it’s back legs. Sweet but with a dark side! Where do you hope your music will take you in the future? Music has honestly taken me more places than I ever dreamed of. I always worked towards a career as a solo trumpet artist, but never thought I would experience the things that I have at this point. I’m very thankful to those that have believed in me and gave me a shot. Now I want to keep playing and traveling and meeting more people. I hope to never stop growing as a musician, writer, and performer. We are in the business of custom building our instruments one at a time for you. If you are a client... past or present... you know that having a Harrelson Trumpet built for you involves a one on one conversation or many with Jason... you know that there are a multitude of options... some clients have told us this can be daunting at first... but Jason and Christine really do help you every step of the way... to make the choices necessary to build you something truly unique and custom fit to you. If there is one thing Jason and I (and now Christine as well) have always been challenged by... is the sheer volume of questions we receive on a daily basis. In the beginning we sorta thought... "We will just build whatever anyone wants... the way they want it... " in theory that is a fun and exciting idea. Actually... in reality it is a fun and exciting thing... but the thing we didn't realize at the outset of this endeavor... was how many questions this would create. We get so many questions every single day. Sometimes they repeat... like... "what's the best size bottom cap for my playing style" or "which tuning slide is the most free blowing"... but I am not exaggerating when I say... even though we have been doing this for 15 years... we still get at least one brand new question per day... if not several ... it really does keep us on our toes... and we love it. I feel like I learn something new every day... and I enjoy it when someone asks me something and I think... hmmmm ... good question... never thought of that before. So, because we do receive so many questions. We've decided to host live web events ... usually once a week... on youtube. We have a large subscription base on our youtube channel... and often we are approached at shows or lectures by someone that says... "I've been watching your videos on XYZ... and I learned this or that"... so in the interest of answering many questions at one time... and creating an archive of those questions online... we're starting this new program. We have hosted 4 of these so far... and they've been quite a success. If you'd like to join in tomorrow... at 2pm Central Time you can watch the live broadcast on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9916WygSdbY Also.. if you 'd like to check out some of our past events... I've posted the videos below. Thanks! And get your questions ready. I know you've got some. Just a friendly reminder that our trade and demo stock is constantly changing! We currently have 3 Harrelson Demo Trumpets in stock that are READY TO SHIP IMMEDIATELY... We are making all new demos for the ITG Conference in May. We also have a Taylor C Trumpet and a gorgeous Vintage Olds Recording. If you're in the market for a trumpet... I do believe we have a pretty steady rotation of top quality used instruments... and frequently sell some of our own Harrelson Demos.... Click here to see our full inventory: http://www.harrelsontrumpets.com/category_s/105.htm |
Jennifer SandquistI am the PR, Advertising, Marketing, Web and Social mind at Harrelson Trumpets. When I am not at work- I paint: Archives
February 2018
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