Roger Ingram - Chicago Clinic and Show

Blue Devil · Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2002 5:57 pm Post subject:

I think I'm still amazed that this has been finalized and it is going to happen. Here are the details on an unbelievable opportunity...

A little while ago, the local (Chicago area) big band that I play in called "Swing and a Miss" found out that Roger Ingram was going to be in the Chicago area around the end of October. One thing lead to another, and we contacted his booking agent. Next thing you know...he is going to be playing lead for our band for a show that we have scheduled!! He also is giving a clinic on the afternoon of the show for two hours, before he plays with us later that evening.

For anyone on this site who might be in the Chicago area on November 2nd, here are the details:

The big band "Swing And A Miss" will be performing in it's own show on November 2nd at 8:00 p.m. called "A Night at the Club" in the Dorothy Menker Theatre at Moraine Valley Community College, 10900 S. 88th Avenue, Palos Hills, Il. Playing lead trumpet for the evening will be Roger Ingram, (for anyone who doesn't know) lead trumpet with Harry Connick Jr.s big band, Paul Anka's big band, Ray Charles, (formerly with) the Louis Bellson Big Band, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, just to name a few of his playing credits.

The show is going to musically tell the story of "A Night At The Club", from when the club opens for the night, until it closes, told through big band music with singers, dancers, scenery, costumes, and lighting.

The cost of the tickets are $8, and can be purchased be calling the school at 708-974-4300, and they will be able to put you in contact with the box office.

Roger will also be hosting a clinic in the same location on November 2nd from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. The cost of the clinic is $30 per person at the door, or you can get a 10% discount if you register and pay ahead of time using PayPal through Roger's website.

For more information on the show and the clinic, visit Roger's website at: http://www.rogeringram.com, or through a link to "Swing And A Miss" at http://www.swcommunityband.com/saam_concert.htm

If anyone is going to be in the area on November 2nd feel free to come on out and hear our band with Roger, and attend his clinic. If anyone has any questions, let me know either by posting to this thread or e-mailing me.

I still can't believe I'm going to be playing in the section with him!

Mike Trzesniak

Pedro · Heavyweight Member Joined: 26 Nov 2001 Posts: 539

Mike....YOU LUCKY DOG YOU!!! I would love to attend since I live near Downtown Chicago but have performances scheduled in the afternoon and that evening! You better hit us back here with ALL the juicy details man!!! But above all.....HAVE YOURSELF A BLAST PLAYIN'!!!!

PC · Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2002 8:35 am Post subject:

Hey,

This is a golden opportunity for asking the man what guru-method he uses (SC, CG, PC), at the risk of passing for an absolute moron-geek!!

It is high time to restart mega-flame-wars here, much too quiet lately!!

Pierre.

PS: Sorry, couldn't resist posting a dumb post! Will probably get blocked by a few if not outright evicted from here!

[ This Message was edited by: PC on 2002-10-17 11:35 ]

Blue Devil · Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2002 6:50 pm Post subject:

Pierre -

Believe me, after all of the recent blowups, I did think of asking Roger when he plays with us what method he uses, but why put to rest some of the more "spirited" debates????? I say we just perpetuate all of those wars without knowing the real answer!!!

I think I would rather ask him how he got started with the Louis Bellson Big Band at the age of 16, with the likes of Bobby Shew, Cat Anderson, and Frank Szabo in the section with him!!

Mike Trzesniak

comebackkid · Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 10:19 pm Post subject:

Hey Devil,

Its been a week and a half, and you haven't reported on how things went.
Did you all have a good time? Learn anything? Make some good music?

Well?

Ed

Emb_Enh · Veteran Member Joined: 29 Oct 2002 Posts: 455

Hey Ed! [CB KID] Did'nt you have a lesson with RI recently?...
_________________
Regards, Roddy o-iii RoddyTpt@aol.com

"E M B O U C H U R E___E N H A N C E M E N T"
BOOK 1 also... BOOK 2 + demo CD

[Self Analysis and Diagnostic Trumpet Method]

comebackkid · Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2002 10:27 am Post subject:

Yes Roddy, I had a lesson with Roger Ingram a couple months ago.
It was a wonderful experience.
Roger is a super guy, and as we all know, a monster of a lead player.
As I am sure Blue Devil can now attest to, there is a lot of misinformation out there about how (physically) Roger plays, and how he believes things work.
Anyone that wants to know what Roger REALLY thinks, or how Roger REALLY plays, should take a lesson with him. It is well worth the time and money.
Now, if I could only take a lesson with Harry James!!!!

Ed

Blue Devil · Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2002 11:27 pm Post subject:

So sorry this took so long to post. I (like everybody else, I'm sure), have been pretty busy since right after this show, up until the end of the year. I did however want to give everyone a recap on what a clinic with Roger Ingram was like, and what it was also like playing in a section with him at our gig...

First of all, Roger is a BEAST of a lead player!! He walked into the clinic in the afternoon, telling a few people as everything was getting set up that he hadn't played in a week (since the Paul Anka tour he was playing on ended the weekend before). He proceeded to take his horn (Schilke, by the way - big Schilke promoter) out as people were wandering in, and did an exercise that he later explained in the clinic. He started cold on a tuning note C, and did one octave "lip glisses", hitting all of the notes in between, from tuning note C up to high C and back down. He proceeded chromatically up, and I started getting really impressesd by the time he got up to A (and beyond), all with complete ease. The regular lead player for our band that Roger played with later on that night was at the clinic, and as he heard Roger do this, he said "maybe I should take a week off myself!".

During the clinic, Roger was very open and friendly, relating a lot of stories (with lots of name dropping), and also doing a lot of playing/demonstrating himself. Once he actually started to play during the clinic, out came the fat, fat, fat double c's, double (or is that triple?) d's, and double e's - all once again with complete ease. I thought his stories were unbelievable as well. He talked about getting started in the field at the age of 16 with Louis Bellson's band - he said that he was on the right scene, having grown up in Los Angeles. He said that he knew Tommy Newsome, and he used to cut school to go see the Tonight Show Band rehearse three times a week. Little by little, he started to make his contacts. He talked about recording sessions with Harry Connick Jr. like anyone else would talk about the gig they just played at last weekend, with the local community band or college wind ensemble or rock band.

Roger remains a good friend of Bobby Shew, with whom he played in the Louis Bellson band - alot of how Roger plays/teaches is similar to (or came from) Bobby Shew's style of playing and teaching. The exercise that Roger warmed up with mentioned above is something that he got from Bobby. Roger talked a lot about the "complete breath", and how to play the correct way on a lead mouthpiece.

All in all, he is a very friendly individual, and the way he ran and played at his clinic, I walked out of there really feeling that what he does is very easy to do...when of course it is not, and takes a lot of hard work to get to that point, yet that is the way that he made you feel.

Now for playing at the gig with him later on that night...

Our jazz band played a total of probably 15 - 20 charts that night, a lot of which are standard tunes and/or arrangements (i.e. "Basically Blues", "Stolen Moments", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Fly Me To The Moon", etc.). Roger was going to be sight reading all of it, and shortly before the show I showed him the cuts that we used, and he proceeded to play the whole night flawlessly. As far as any "trumpet pyrotechnics" during the show, he was pretty conservative, but he definitely had his moments - like the two octave (or so) "doit" that he did, that turned a number of heads in the band even! He really demonstrated excellent lead playing, making the band swing and making the whole trumpet section in particular articulate, phrase, and play sylistically following his lead.

As an encore, the band did Brian Setzer's "Rock This Town", and of course Roger completely nailed the double G (G above high C) on the final held chord of the chart (complete with his "holdover") to end the night.

The show was a great success. This was the first time anyone had done a show like this at Morraine Valley (or anywhere in our area for that matter), and we sold out their 650 seat theater, which made our band and the college really happy.

Both the clinic and playing in the section with Roger made for a really great musical experience.

Mike Trzesniak

P.S. As of now, Roger is still in the area giving lessons/clinics/playing for a little while longer. I know he's playing with the Temptations at the Raddison Star Theater (formerly the Holiday Star Theater) in Merrilville Indiana this Saturday night (12-7-02). Anyone interested in lessons/clinics/performances can check out his website: http://www.rogeringram.com

kzem · Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2002 2:10 am Post subject:

That sounds great, Mike. Thanks for a cool post. I think the last time I saw Roger play live was with Frank Mantooth's band at the Midwest Clinic.

Kurt Z.