Recordings

About the recording: 

Call and Response is a fundamental form of human communication. Democratic, and often spontaneous, it's a place where the creative spark leaps from spoken language to musical expression. Music heard in settings as diverse as a church, nightclub, or concert hall often feature aspects of call and response. The duos on this recording for two trumpets or trumpet and piano all have a degree of this spirited dialogue and interplay. Seen from another angle, before the first note is sounded, the players respond to the composer's call, the score beckoning musicians to "come out and play!" Beyond my own excitement in presenting this music lies the hope that these works - heretofore unrecorded - would find both a wider audience and more performers interested in bringing them to life.

 

I am lucky to have number tremendous musicians to collaborate with on this project: White Pine's superb recording engineer, Scott Topazi, came onto this project the same year that he started a new job at Central Michigan University and I'm so thankful for his great ears and big heart and that he said 'yes' to this project; pianist Zhihua Tang is nothing short of remarkable in her attention to both the details and the spirit of the music; I'm thrilled to have Allan Dean-one of my mentors and heroes-joining me on this recording. Allan and I both studied with a great trumpeter and teacher, J. Robert Hanson, to whom this CD is dedicated. 

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About the compositions:

I was excited to be able to feature two pieces by former teachers of mine at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.  Dan Breedon was my music history professor and Thomas Richmond taught theory.  Dan's piece was written for me when I was back just across the Red River teaching at North Dakota State University and playing in the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra.  Call and Response was revised several times and finally in 2015 found it's way onto this recording.  Thom's Duologue was a piece that had been written in 1979 at the suggestion of Russell Pesola (band director and one of Concordia's  the trumpet teachers).  I was introduced to the piece by my trumpet teacher, Bob Hanson.  

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Three of the other pieces on the recording were written by composers who also (or used to) play the trumpet.  David Dzubay, John Prescott, and Charles Reskin all write beautifully for our instrument and I love all three of these 3-movement works for trumpet and piano.  

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The final work on the project is very special to me.  I'm probably not alone in thinking that Benny Golson's tune I Remember Clifford is one of the greatest jazz ballads ever written.  I was very fortunate to interact with Benny in the years prior to this recording and consulted with him as he wrote this duet on his own great standard.  He was inspired to write this new work after being reacquainted with some trumpet duos he wrote in the early 1970's - Two Part Inventions for Two Trumpets - which are currently out of print, but which I hope will be reissued in time.  Benny's heart is huge and his music is full of grace and humanity, something that I hope comes through in this recording.

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