Wycliffe Gordon - Trumpet Player

Speed · Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 5:33 am Post subject: Wycliffe Gordon - Trumpet Player

Wycliffe Gordon is a well known trombone player, but I had no idea he was also a terrific trumpet player. He, along with his "International All Stars," fronted my local symphony last night. To my surprise, he played trumpet as much as he played trombone. They played lots of Louis Armstrong and other New Orleans music, as well as several originals, scored to include the orchestra.

The International All Stars included an Israeli pianist, a Japanese upright bassist, a Canadian reed man and an American drummer, so they lived up to their name.

Clearly, this show was created to put New Orleans jazz in front of symphony audiences, but it appeared to also bring jazz fans into the symphony hall. If you get a chance to see this show on its tour, don't miss it. Highly recommended.

Take care,
Marc Speed

oxleyk · Heavyweight Member Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 4180

Does he still use a trombone mouthpiece on trumpet?

Speed · Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:21 am Post subject:

I was not close enough to tell any detail about his mouthpieces. The program said he was a "Yamaha artist" and used Pickett mouthpieces.

During the course of the evening, he played trumpet, trombone, and what his website refers to as a soprano trombone. I've seen references to a slide trumpet, but it was an instrument I've never seen before. An internet search tells me that "soprano trombone" is likely the technically correct term. It looked like a mini-trombone, was roughly half the length of a trombone, had a slide, and a bell that looked like a trumpet bell. Its timbre was trumpet-like. I have read that Louis Armstrong used one as a novelty item, and Gordon is a big fan of Pops, so perhaps that's the connection.

The only member of his band with whom I was familiar was Evan Arntzen, who played mainly clarinet, but also some tenor sax I had seen him a few months ago at Snug Harbor in New Orleans. He's a young man who, in my opinion, deserves some attention. Very entertaining.

Take care,
Marc Speed

LSOfanboy · Veteran Member Joined: 08 Jul 2018 Posts: 347

As far as I am aware, Wycliffe plays a trumpet mouthpiece on trumpet.

He's an exceptional musician (firstly) and remarkable brass player.

A real legend!

roccotrumpetsiffredi · Veteran Member Joined: 04 Jul 2015 Posts: 169

LSOfanboy · Veteran Member Joined: 08 Jul 2018 Posts: 347