i completely forgot to post my photos of the Arturo gig yesterday!!!

If you're reading this somewhere warmer than Minneapolis (40s and cold rain... they're talking snow) then consider yourself lucky! I've been day dreaming about a sunny beach all day. 

Around the shop these days... Jason's been focusing on CAD and machining projects. He's really improving his understanding of the software and the machine... he's self taught on all of it... don't tell him I told you... but the things he's producing are really amazing. He just finished an art piece trumpet that would put some of his first designs to shame.
I snapped a photo when he finally brought it into the office and said... "IT'S FINISHED!" Some of the most elaborate designs that come out of this shop take him weeks of complicated programming. Computers are not his friends... Jason prefers to work with his hands... so it can be even more frustrating than it sounds. That's why the things he's producing are even that more impressive.

Paul is battling the cold I've had for weeks... it's been passed around the office most of the winter... but he's still plugging away at emails and handling customers all day... with a smile...  he even photographed the latest Harrelson Summit for me... that is going up on ebay tonight... the photos turned out great... check it out... We shot a demo video... check that out below the gallery... this horn goes up on ebay at 5pm central...

I am really looking forward to seeing Allen Vizzutti at the ITG this year... I saw him a few years back... he performed a suite... I think it was called "Toy Box" ... each movement was titled something clever... like "jack in the box" or "bouncing balls" or "airplanes" ... to be honest I can't recall any of the titles of any of the movements... but I do remember Allen bouncing superballs on stage and totally charming me! I thought... now this guy really loves what he's doing... he was so happy.

Hey guys! 

Here's what I have been excited about these days at the Harrelson Shop:

Arturo Sandoval stopped in last week and spent the good part of the day. Jason fit his trumpet with a new Harrelson Custom Pinky Ring Rest... hot off the milling machine that morning... the first one ever installed on any trumpet. It frees your pinky while playing... allowing you to slip your pinky into the crook of the ring when you pick your instrument up. I'll take a photo of the one I have sitting here and post that as well. Arturo and Jason also spent time going over and choosing bell options for Arturo's new ballad trumpet.... there was discussion on another "top secret" topic that I'm not allowed to discuss at this time :)

Then, Jason, Paul and I went to see Arturo at the Dakota! We had a nice spot up top and I shot some great photos... Arturo opened on the Harrelson Medusa... I regret I have no video of that... so, if anyone out there does... please send it my way.

My friend Danny Sigelman wrote an article for City Pages... that you can find here:http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2011/04/arturo_sandoval.php

In other news.... Harrelson Artist Shamarr Allen is in USA Today in this article: 

New Orleans is back, and so is the talent

Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs were chosen to represent United States as cultural ambassadors and they are just back to the US after their tour in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for the US State Department. He has been sending video blogs and you can see the tour @ http://blog.nola.com/shamarr/index.html as well as his facebook page!


There's also a new LIVE Album by Galactic out May 3rd... Shamarr is a guest on that as well... here's the article about that:
http://nola.livemusicblog.com/2011/04/05/galactic-live-album-the-other-side-of-midnight-out-may-3rd/

Last, but certainly not least... Harrelson Artist Giulio Carmassi celebrated his 3rd anniversary on YouTube! by putting out the best videos yet... the new videos are below... and I've quoted his facebook note explaining how all this got started in the first  place! Check it out!!!   www.giuliocarmassi.com

It's 3 years of youtube! :)
by Giulio Carmassi on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 12:02pm

It's officially 3 years that i've posted my first video on youtube!

What started as a way to impress and woo a girl that lived across the country has grown into my main marketing tool worldwide.

Some facts for anyone that might be interested :) :

431,000 total views with reposts. I got 3 haters in three years. No one is mean to me somehow and it's a blessing. 1338 subscribers.

The large majority of the people that check out my videos and website reside in New York. Then there's northern Italy, and then farther away Paris and London, and then very small, Los Angeles.

So yes, I was right i guess in moving here!

Despite everything, people responded to the HD quality better and the videos in the last year get better ratings and the viewings don't' get interrupted at half time.

Yay for Canon slr's.

My favorite video is Wilco's "on and on and on". My least favorite is the Muse one, where i hate my vocals.

I get more youtube comments then people that have 10 times my views. Most people enjoy what they see, but not many get to see them somehow.

I have an average of youtube "dislikes" between 0% and 2%.

Bohemian rhapsody gets the highest percentage of viewings everywhere, except LA where the chick corea videos are more viewed.

In general, comedy and technique get a whole lot more views then heartfelt and soulful.

In three years no one has asked me to teach them privately. Even with 3000 visits to my last website where it says that i do teach, and on Skype as well. So i guess that shouldn't be my focus. :)

In three years there have been countless blogs about me, but only a single magazine/newspaper article about me.

I big thank you and a big hug to everyone. I really did not expect the videos to get this far, and knowing that there's been 1000+ reposts of my videos on people's walls makes me really really grateful.

Love and lots of necessary Carbohydrates,

Giulio

There's so much work to be done here at the shop... there always is... but the ITG has us in crunch mode. I came in a little late today because aside from music and this business, I have my own passion... my painting. My mind is half way home already today... as soon as I walk out the door I am going to spend the night painting... I have a show opening in May and I want to get everything ready for that.... here's my art blog if you're interested: http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/studio-blog.html

Life is busier than ever before!!! No time for sleep! Signing off~ keep up the good work trumpet friends and fellow artists... I'm paying attention!

If it isn't already obvious... I will just come right out and tell you now... I am a music-head. I have been since I was a little girl. My grandmother taught my sister and I piano lessons. I would go with her to church, where she was the organist. She would let me sit beside her at the organ and play the keys... I would beg her to switch to the "chimes" setting... I loved the way it would boom through the giant empty church. I felt so small and so humbled by the music. I love feeling humbled by music. It happens to me on a regular basis. I suppose I put myself in that position. I go to a lot of shows here in Minneapolis. More in the last 3 years than in the rest of my life combined... and I was no stranger to concerts before then, believe me. I am a part of the Arts & Music Scene here in so many ways. It's wonderful to me that all of my work and play seem to be colliding. 

Most of my friends are in bands. I am finding that if they're not, they were or will be. DJs, drummers, painters, trumpet builders, fashion designers, booking agents, writers, gallery owners, theater operators, curators, lighting techs, sound engineers... I even have one friend that builds custom guitar pedals.

It's to the point now... that Harrelson Trumpets are in the hands of many amazingly talented clients around the globe. Imagine my delight in this! It's such a natural step at this point to meet with players coming through town on tour and then follow up with an evening of watching them perform. It's been such a blast... and it's only snowballing. I thought I would give you my take on some of my favorite players on the Harrelson roster at this time. These are just some of my personal favorites... everyone has their own musical taste of course.  I love classical music as well... but tend to gravitate towards jazz, blues, rock and folk

..................................................................................................................................................

Meet Shamarr Allen... a powerhouse of energy and positivity. I really love his music... but more than that... I love his drive! This man beams excitement in everything he does... and it's contagious! Don't take my word for it... see for yourself. http://www.shamarrallen.com/

Mac Gollehon... another of my favorite clients of ours. Mac plays on a Harrelson Vines Art Cornet as well as other Harrelson models. Mac's list music biography is so long... that I will let you read it for yourself here instead of re-typing it... http://www.mac-nyc.com/# A real showman and another powerhouse on our horns. 

Giulio Carmassi... now this guy... really is a one man band if I've ever seen one. His videos are not only musical and technical but beautiful to watch... and at times... quite fun and funny. You can tell he takes his music very seriously... while maintaining a genuine sense of wonder and humor! I love his videos. LOVE THEM. Giulio plays on a Harrelson Bravura. http://giuliocarmassi.com/fr_bio.cfm

Jake Baldwin is my favorite of our young clients right now... I think he's really someone to watch. I can still remember the first time he visited us at Harrelson Trumpets... at that time run out of our garage behind the house. I think he was in 8th grade. I was in the kitchen making coffee... and he went into Jason's music studio adjacent to that... he started to play... and I stopped breathing... it's always so amazing when a person contains so much talent in such a young shell. Jason modified his horn back then... it wasn't until this year that Jake got into a Harrelson Summit. http://www.myspace.com/jakebjazz/music
We're excited to announce that he's one of the finalists in the Jazz Improvisation Competition at the ITG Festival this year! On his home turf... right here in Minneapolis. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=79688769503&oid=25687203706&comments&set=t.577346387&type=1

This is Skip Warren (aka LR-60). He plays on a Harrelson Nouveau... we have some really great shots of that horn... and he's used it on album covers more than once. 

Eric Jacobson of Kings Go Forth just recently stopped by the Harrelson Shop to pick out a mouthpiece and try out a few more Harrelson Trumpets. He currently plays on a Harrelson MUSE and was in town for a gig at The Cedar Cultural Center. 

Ok ... I'd better wrap it up for now... I have so many more people to talk about... but there's more work to do. That being said... if you are playing on our equipment and have some videos/press/photos to share with me... trust me... I would LOVE to hear from you. We've recently hired a web pro here in the office... and she's taking over my duties... allowing me to focus on press, advertising... and CLIENTS! I want to spend as much time in the musical trenches as possible. That's what I love... and that's what this company is all about!

one of the great advantages of small business.... there is a lot less in the way of bureaucracy. decisions are made quickly and all of the people directly involved in the implementation of goals... are in the room when those decisions are made. nowhere is this made more evident than in the R&D department... which really isn't a department at all... but one man. Jason does all of his design work himself. spending hours programming code for the VMC... milling... building fixture plates and jigs. because the design and production are both done by him... it is much less costly and time consuming to make changes... and innovate. but i will be honest... where as jason get's excited about implications of his designs on the sound of the instrument... my favorite part of this is the aesthetic miracles that are performed on a regular basis. i would really like to do my best... to remember to feature some of the more beautiful designs i see coming out of the shop. jason admires the work of louis comfort tiffany... and i know, because he's told me more than several times... that if he could, he would design a trumpet that is completely organic in shape, feel and sound. he would love to create an instrument that really is more of an extension of the player... a horn that you could barely tell you were holding... so that instrument and musician become one... producing the truest of music. and of course... it would look beautiful too.
so, here for your viewing pleasure are some of my personal favorites... 

I also really love the way the bright acrylic inlays look... especially against silver and gold... people rarely order them. We sell a lot more paua shell or agate... but there's something so striking about the colors in the acrylic... they kinda look like candy

there's also something really beautiful about the designs that go into all of our horns. i frequently glance over jason's shoulder and exclaim! can i photograph that... he usually just laughs and says... sure 

It's spring time FINALLY here in minneapolis! we have the giant overhead door open in the shop... and my office... which is in the center of this brick building... and has no windows... feels full of life today. Jason and Paul are taking a break from the norm for an hour or so to clean parts of the shop and show room. The ITG is in just a few short weeks and we're hosting several open houses here at the Shop. We want to get things ready to show and tell... and quickly. We get so busy here that every once and a while we look around the shop or the office and realize we're buried in papers etc. It's a good day for SPRING CLEANING!

Jason's also been spending a lot time designing and machining on a special Art trumpet this week... all the while the VMC keeps pumping out tuning slides and James is busy cleaning up the trumpets built over the weekend. My focus has been on website auditing this week. Paul's trying to keep up with emails and clients. A busy week as usual here at Harrelson Trumpets.