One of the most important and influential jazz musicians of all time, Davis was a relentless innovator who was a key player in numerous stylistic developments in jazz. Krin’s highly idiosyncratic picks for the best recorded jazz trumpet solos, in alphabetical order. He is a jazz trumpeter, composer, teacher, music educator, and artist director of Jazz in Lincoln Center New York city. In fact, the very first jazz musician (according to many) was a trumpeter: Buddy Bolden is a legendary figure who influenced many important early New Orleans musicians, including Armstrong, but, sadly, no recordings of him are thought to have survived. Of course, this list is completely subjective, but hopefully it will provide a useful starting point in your discovery of more great jazz music…. Learn how your comment data is processed. Possibly the most famous jazz trumpet player of all time, right behind Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis stands tall at #2 on our list of best jazz trumpet players. Armstrong was born in arguably the jazz capital of the world, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA in 1901. Jun 22, 2016 - Explore Sammy Barreto's board "Trumpet players" on Pinterest. While it is often the singers who claim all the fame, these musicians are famous in their own right. Shaw was a major innovator in the jazz trumpet lineage, who was particularly noted for his striking use of wide intervals, and for his application of patterns and pentatonic shapes in modal jazz settings. Carl Hilding “Doc” Severinsen started playing with his high school band age the ripe old age of 7 years. His career began with sideman performances with Eric Dolphy and Horace Silver, with whom he recorded the excellent Cape Verdean Blues, and organist Larry Young, whose Unity is an essential classic that features three Shaw compositions. A List of Famous Jazz Trumpeters with photos! Brown takes a classic trumpet solo on the up-tempo jazz standard ‘Cherokee’. To hear Armstrong’s later work and vocal stylings, try Ella and Louis, with Ella Fitzgerald. These are musicians who are masters of their craft. Jamie Cullum. Here's a list of 10 essential jazz trumpet albums, a few of which will likely elicit some surprise (and maybe some nays from purists). The vocal records Chet Baker Sings and It Could Happen To You are more famous but, from a trumpet perspective, this 1958 recording might be more interesting. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the Vinyl release of Famous Jazz Trumpets on Discogs. An infected lip injury in the early ‘90s severely hampered his ability to play trumpet in his later years. Brown’s own compositions include the blues ‘Sandu’ and the tricky ‘Joy Spring’. Some of the most distinctive compositions of the bebop era were penned by Gillespie: ‘Woody ‘N’ You’, ‘Groovin’ High, ‘Salt Peanuts’ and ‘A Night in Tunisia’. Doc Severinson. 1. Initially inspired by the swing era trumpeter Roy Eldridge, Gillespie developed a new style of playing that was chromatically complex and utilised the trumpet’s high register. This trumpet transcription is great because there are a lot of outside pentatonic patterns to take advantage of. Best of all, with our modern recording technology, we will be able to enjoy these artists for centuries if not millennia! Jazzfuel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Photo: William Gotleib Collection. He was a long time member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and had an extensive relationship with Blue Note Records, with his boogaloo-tinged ‘The Sidewinder’ becoming a massive hit and helping to establish the label’s signature sound. Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer born on October 21, 1917 in the United States and died on the 6 th January 1993 at the age of 76. To those unfamiliar with Miles Davis, there may be some confusion as to why he’s placed so high up on the list. List of jazz trumpeters This page was last edited on 23 November 2020, at 07:07 (UTC). This article lists notable musicians who have played the trumpet, cornet or flugelhorn. He struggled with addiction for years, and the jazz documentary Let’s Get Lost juxtaposes his sunken appearance in the late 1980s with his earlier film star good looks. Wynton Marsalis is sometimes painted as a conservative, no doubt in part because of his outspoken views on various subjects including late-period Miles Davis and rap music, but this 1985 effort still sounds fresh and highly distinctive. You might also like our round up of the best contemporary jazz trumpet players out there. "It must have been made in heaven," said drummer Jimmy Cobb. If you’re looking to discover some more great jazz, check out the otherinstrument-specific listswe’ve put together – including this round up of the best jazz trumpet mouthpieces – or head over to our Jazz Music area for best albums, songs & more…, Last update on 2020-12-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. Louis Armstrong, “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue” (1927) on Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia) 2. The use of the trumpet in jazz dates back to the music’s very beginnings in New Orleans, where the influence of the marching band tradition and bugle calls were key and, as the highest pitched member of the brass family, the trumpet was the natural leader of the band. The title track of Morgan’s most famous album is an infectious bluesy boogaloo, the success of which kickstarted a formula that Blue Note would try to emulate on many subsequent records. This and his father Ellis Marsalis, the famous pianist encouraged Wynton to be a musical person. The trumpet was the original archetypal jazz instrument. Chris Botti (born October 12, 1962 in Portland, Oregon, USA) is a smooth jazz trumpeter. “His rhythmic sophistication was unequalled. A trombone player I used to work with in Seattle was kind enough to show me this easy lick. A List of Famous Jazz Trumpeters with photos! Balsom was born on 7 October 1978. But, at least amongst jazz musicians, he is most revered for his brilliant trumpet playing, and particularly for the 1920s recordings with his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, which helped to change jazz’s focus from collective improvisation to individual soloists. Here is a short list of “legends” or famous trumpet players that even people that don’t play the trumpet have likely heard of. The excellent 2016 documentary I Called Him Morgan explores the couple’s complex relationship and features material from interviews with Helen herself. She was one of the greatest female classical trumpet players, and that made her unique. While it is often the singers who claim all the fame, these musicians are famous in their own right. Freddie Hubbard is perhaps best remembered for his supremely confident trumpet solos on his own 1960s hard bop albums like Open Seasame, Ready For Freddie and Hub Tones. With Krupa he recorded the concerto-like ‘Rockin’ Chair’, one of his most famous features, and on joining the group in the early 1940s became one of the first black musicians to have a permanent chair in a white-led big band. NPR’s Jazz Library reports that Herbie Hancock’s 1965 album “Maiden Voyage” sought to capture the essence of the sea: “the flow of the current; the creatures, great, small and mythical, who live in the water; the response of voyagers, who experience it for the first time.” The trumpet solo on the title track marvelously captures that sense of newfound independence. An influential teacher and advocate for the music, he was known for his extensive knowledge of sophisticated harmony and rhythm. These include classical and modern forms of music, but the most famous trumpet players inevitably hail from the world of jazz, both traditional and modern. Eldridge’s classic recordings from the 1930s and ‘40s predate the album era, although they are certainly worth seeking out on various compilations. His Second Great Quintet experimented with freer forms in the ‘60s, while In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew ushered in the jazz-rock and fusion era. Famously competitive, he would seek out jam session ‘cutting contests’ wherever he went. Al Haig and Johnny Griffin also feature on piano and tenor saxophone respectively. As time has past and music evolved, the list of musical instruments available has grown, especially with the advent of the digital age. Charles Mingus 1922-79. (1926–1991) However, prior to his mysterious death in Amsterdam in 1988, he had actually had something of a revival, making some of his most technically impressive recordings whilst spending most of his final years in Europe. The Best Jazz Trumpet Mouthpieces (2020 Guide), In Paris Festival International de Jazz, May, 1949, The Best Miles Davis Albums in Jazz History, The Best Jazz Pianists of All Time (2020), Jazz in Los Angeles | Clubs, Festivals & Musicians. His influence can be heard in many of the best jazz trumpeters today. Woody Shaw is on top form on this programme of modal music played by a medium sized ensemble that features long-time collaborator Joe Henderson. The rhythmically complex music is played by a band including Wynton’s brother Branford Marsalis on saxophone. So, in roughly chronological order and covering a range of styles, here’s our guide to some of the best jazz trumpeters ever…. Marsalis came to prominence in the 1980s as part of ‘The Young Lions’, an unofficial collective of musicians who tended towards swinging acoustic jazz rather than the fusion or Avant garde styles that had been dominant for the previous few decades. that question is an easy one to answer. From official state parades to jazz, the trumpet left a great mark in our music history. Armstrong helped invent ‘scat’ singing, and his gravelly voice was later heard on hits like ‘What a Wonderful World’. 1) West End Blues: Louis Armstrong. Join the mailing list for tools, resources & ideas - all free, Join the Jazzfuel newsletter and get the free PDF in your inbox today. He also pushed the envelope in fusing bebop with Cuban music to create Afro-Cuban jazz, as well as leading an influential big band. Buddy Bolden – the very first jazz improviser, according to many – and Louis Armstrong, jazz’s first major improvising soloist, were both trumpeters, as were early pioneers Bix Beiderbecke, Henry “Red” Allen and Bunk Johnson. Nicknamed ‘Little Jazz’ due to his short stature, Eldridge came to prominence during the Swing era of the 1930s, playing trumpet with major bands led by Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw and Fletcher Henderson, and later with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. The great, famous jazz trumpet player, Louis Armstrong Most Famous Trumpet Players. The trumpet player has been a highly visible and occasionally controversial public advocate for jazz, working as artistic director of New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Centre and as director of Jazz Studies at the Julliard School. While the vocalist may have his lyrics, it is the musicians behind him, who truly make the sound. He featured on classic bebop sessions with Charlie Parker in the mid-1940s, fronted the nine-piece Birth of the Cool band, made some of the best hard bop records of the 1950s with his First Great Quintet and pioneered modal jazz on Milestones and Kind of Blue. Hubbard came racing out of the starting blocks on his 1960 debut for Blue Note. If you like Jazz, then there is a good chance that you have heard of Louis Armstrong. In the ‘70s he began recording as a leader with albums like Blackstone Legacy, Rosewood and Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard, remaining largely faithful to the straight ahead acoustic jazz tradition during a period when fusion and jazz-rock were becoming dominant. Our chronological look at 10 of the most famous jazz trumpet players in history, including Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis & Chet Baker. Your email address will not be published. Tina Brooks is on tenor saxophone and contributes two tunes; a few days later he and Hubbard would record together again under Brooks’ name on True Blue. He also replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Famous Trumpet Players Today-A List Of The Most Well-Known Trumpeters Today and of All Time. A sidekick of free jazz magus Ornette Coleman between 1958 and 1961, Oklahoma-born Cherry was a doyen of avant-garde jazz whose favourite horn was the more compact pocket trumpet. As a technician he is considered one of the finest trumpeters ever to have played the instrument, having made highly acclaimed classical recordings and becoming the first person to win Grammy Awards in jazz and classical music in the same year. Gillespie was so quick-minded, he could create an endless flow of ideas at unusually fast tempo” – Wynton Marsalis. For us jazz fans, there isn’t much better than a great trumpet jazz solo. Like Miles Davis, he is also known as being possibly the greatest jazz trumpet player of all time, arguably number one in his time. Ask the average person to picture a jazz musician, and there’s a good chance they’ll think of a trumpeter: Louis Armstrong’s grin, Dizzy Gillespie’s inflated cheeks, or perhaps Miles Davis the style icon. Your email address will not be published. first name in my head is Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong by Herbert Behrens, CC BY-SA 3.0. For a lesser known record set that features him, unusually, in an explosively virtuosic mood, try The Miles Davis / Tadd Dameron Quintet in Paris Festival International de Jazz from 1949. You can learn more about it as part of our selection of the best bebop albums and artists in history. Photograph: Rafa Rivas/AFP/GETTYIMAGES. He took in all the music of his youth—from Roy Eldridge to Duke Ellington—and developed a unique style built on complex rhythm and harmony balanced by wit. So why not make it a Woody Shaw trumpet transcription improvising over the tune, “There Will Never Be Another You”. Many jazz trumpeters and cornetists are familiar with Herbert L. Clarke’s 1921 letter to Elden Benge. Wynton Marsalis is famous trumpeter from New Orleans. No sharing. While other famous jazz trumpeters could play higher and faster than Miles, his ability to put together fabulous bands and create classic albums is virtually unmatched. Third, on the list of famous trumpet players is Dizzy Gillespie whose real name is John Birks. The name “Dizzy” came from his crazy onstage personality and his way out there high trumpet notes. he is a great man in the world of jazz trumpet. He was arguably the first major soloist in jazz, and – with his rhythmically sophisticated, operatic style – remains the greatest according to many. In the early 1950s he was a member of Gerry Mulligan’s quartet, which was unusual for its lack of a chordal instrument, before a series of records that featured his light, delicate singing voice helped turn him into a major star. US jazz musician Wynton Marsalis plays trumpet in 2003. The label 'Discover Jazz' is attached to articles which have been edited and published by Jazzfuel host Matt Fripp, but have been written in collaboration with various different jazz musicians and industry contributors. Required fields are marked *. Let our team of jazz professionals send informative jazz-related content to your inbox each week... We respect your privacy. A run of albums in the 1960s, including Delightfulee, Search For The New Land, Cornbread and The Procrastinator are all packed with brilliant tunes, largely written by Lee Morgan himself, and played by wonderful bands. 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