One thing I’ve noticed about music students that was probably always true, but seems extra evident in the modern era, is that most students don’t engage with the styles of music they practice away from the instrument. When I ask my trumpet students about their favourite artists, songs, and genres, I almost always get answers that involve zero trumpets or brass instruments, and sometimes zero acoustic instruments (other than voice of course) at all!
One of the best ways to develop a good trumpet sound is to try and sound like a role model, or preferably several. If you’re a grade 7 student in junior high band, and the best trumpet you’ve heard in your life is your grade 9 section leader, well, you’re going to have a hard time developing your own sound. But if you’ve got Bud or Maurice or Arturo playing along in your head with you, you’ve got positive role models to help cultivate your own sound.
Before you worry “wait, but isn’t that just copying? What if I want to sound unique!” I have to ask you back: “How do you know what unique sounds like if you don’t know what the trumpet sounds like at all?” Because the truth is, if you’ve never heard really good trumpet, you simply don’t know what the trumpet sounds like. And the obvious answer is: listen to more than one person!
What you’ll notice about all these different players is, they all sound different, but they all sound great. So, there’s room for creativity, but there are also common threads. Commonalities include: playing in tune, with good rhythm, easily, and using the air to power the sound. Differences include: brightness, vibrato, articulations, and phrasing. There are of course more, and try to listen to what’s the same and what’s different as you listen to different players.
In my opinion, the greatest musician (not just of trumpet players, but musicians) of all time is Miles Davis. There’s a famous quote of his: “Sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself.” To help make that long time just a smidge shorter, here are 30 great players, roughly 15 classically-focused and 15 jazz-focused (though some do both), that you can use as role models.
Maurice André – Maybe the greatest who’s ever done it for classical music. Championed playing on smaller instruments like piccolo trumpet, and played arrangements of violin, oboe, and voice music regularly.
Miles Davis – My personal biggest inspiration, one of the greatest musicians of all time. His career spanned decades, trailblazing at the forefront of every genre shift along the way.
Timofei Dokshizer – The greatest soloist to come from behind the Iron Curtain, no one to this day plays Russian and Soviet music with the energy and sparkle that Dokshizer does.
Louis Armstrong – Basically the guy that made jazz what it is today, turning it from a free-for-all jam session to a vehicle for solo performance.
Adolph Herseth – Ask any orchestra player who they most model their sound after, and the vast majority of them will answer Herseth.
Dizzy Gillespie – A leading figure in the development of bebop, a genre of jazz known for its speed and complexity. Succeeded despite the cheeks, not because of them.
Alison Balsom – A top soloist out of the UK, playing music for trumpet as well as voice, violin, and other instruments. Her sound is immediately identifiable by her impeccably smooth legato.
Maynard Ferguson – The quintessential high note hero, what more needs to be said?
Håkan Hardenberger – Soloist responsible for dozens of commissions of great new solo repertoire for trumpet, some of which goes into really extreme and unusual techniques, which he plays with unparalleled ease.
Arturo Sandoval – Top performer and educator out of Cuba, continuing in Dizzy’s footsteps.
Allen Vizzutti – There is nothing, and I’m not kidding when I say nothing, that this man cannot play. It really goes to show just what can be accomplished when you keep it easy.
Wayne Bergeron – From a strong start in Maynard’s big band, Wayne’s made a name as a high note hero and is particularly known for his movie soundtracks, including playing lead trumpet in The Incredibles.
Matthias Höfs – The principal trumpet of German Brass, and one of the most graceful piccolo trumpet players in the business.
Harry James – Trumpet player and big band leader well known for his rock-solid technique and huge vibrato.
Selina Ott – One of the more recent up-and-coming classical soloists who’s making huge waves across continental Europe.
Herb Alpert – Founder and lead trumpet of the Tijuana Brass, a mariachi-inspired brass band. Original recordings were actually just him overdubbing himself.
Reinhold Friedrich – A top rotary trumpet player out of Germany, one of my personal favourite sounds to use as a model.
Chuck Mangione – Made his career not on the trumpet, but on the flugelhorn, the trumpet’s suave and smooth cousin.
Jens Lindemann – Former member of the Canadian brass who’s gone on to have an accomplished solo career, excels in both classical and jazz mediums.
Freddie Hubbard – A jazz player with a flaming hot sound that pushed the envelope in hard bop styles.
Esteban Batallán – Newest principal trumpet of the Chicago symphony, continuing Herseth’s legacy, and quickly making a name as one of the best orchestra players around.
Chet Baker – Trumpet player and singer with one of the sweetest sounds you can imagine.
Armando Ghitalla – A great orchestral player and soloist from the old days, with a sound full of personality and character that’s hard to find in many more modern recordings.
Bobby Shew – Top-cut jazz performer, educator, and clinician, after whom Yamaha names a lot of their gear.
Gerard Schwarz – Former trumpet player of the American Brass Quintet and New York Philharmonic, also conducted the Seattle Symphony. Pushes music of American composers in a Europe-dominated genre.
Vince DiMartino – Superstar jazz player who’s also a passionate educator, still seen at ITG events to this day.
Tine Thing Helseth – Excellent Norwegian soloist, and founder and principal trumpet of tenThing, an all-female classical brass ensemble.
Doc Severinsen – Trumpet player and band leader who made most of his career on The Tonight Show, as the guy who can play absolutely anything. Just don’t ask him to play his highest note.
Brian McWhorter – My favourite oddball player, a soloist who specializes in experimental and avant-garde music.
Xian aTunde Adjuah – The youngest jazzer on this list and my pick for the hottest talent currently touring, an excellently fresh take on modern jazz.
These are of course far from the only great trumpet players out there, so go out of your way to find new players and new music, and get recommendations from other musicians and listeners about what they like. You can learn a lot about your friends and bandmates by learning about what music makes them tick. There’s a whole wide world of excellent trumpet music out there, so get listening!
Matt Richard 