Is trumpet playing sport, recreation, business, relaxation, communication, worship, praise, a gift, a blessing, a diversion, an art, a science, a way of life, a discipline, a prison, an escape, energy, force, movement, peace, anger, harmony, therapy, medicine, comfort, confrontation, unification, health, wealth, poverty, love, anguish, accomplishment, fear, joy, a friend, and enemy, a snake, a flower, a voyage, a release, the comfort of home, the agony of defeat or the joy of victory?
YES
A Sideman's Stories from the Trumpet Section
I've had a few real fun gigs. The kind you would pay them to play.
The cast of Star Trek NG appeared in a traveling theater piece named EGBDF. They came to town for a week and I was called . Orchestra on stage as a part of the play. That week I was hyped to say the last - I am a real NG fan. Frakes played trombone, Picard played violin, and McFadden "played" percussion.
Here's an article from a London theater mag about the adventure:
In 1992, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise were getting “a little stir-crazy”. The cast had been doing nothing but saving the universe for five years and they needed a change. ” Captain Picard tells me, “why can’t we do something at weekends?” And so they did. The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation embarked on a happily eccentric theatrical tour of four American cities, performing Tom Stoppard and André Previn’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (EGBDF). Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) played the Doctor, the android Data (Brent Spiner) played Ivanov, the imprisoned lunatic, and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) played Alexander, the sane dissident diagnosed as mad by the Soviet authorities.
(gr-In addition : Gates McFadden and Colm Meaney played roles in our production)
The eccentricity lies in the fact that EGBDF requires a full-size orchestra on stage with the actors. It’s also short - just over an hour - so the huge stage effort doesn’t even make a full evening’s entertainment. On the other hand, as Stewart says, “It is a brilliant piece.”
It is, indeed, brilliant and very, very funny. And so, by some miracle, the Trekkies persuaded four big-city symphony orchestras to give them matinée time. And now, by another miracle, the National Theatre in London is to stage Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Related Links
Stories from the Trumpet Section – The Pointer Sisters
I’m going to be careful and not mention some names for obvious reasons
In the late 1970’s I got a call to play in the Backup Band for the Pointer Sisters at a less than friendly venue. After a little coercion I accepted and went to the rehearsal the afternoon of the show.
It was the usual crew of players crowded into a back room warming up for rehearsal. The band was good the rhythm section and keyboard /conductor/ Tom Salisbury- was world class.
The charts were the most difficult I’ve seen, having been written in San Francisco with those power - house players in mind.
The first note of the overture was a double A and went up from there. The chart on “Salt Peanuts” blew my mind – it was furious and well written.
We played our hearts out and the show was very well received. Following the gig we waited in the back room for our checks – this was the ultimatum we had given the contractor $ up front – that did’nt happen, but we foolishly agreed to wait until after the show. Well minutes dragged on and on and no checks – cash in fact had been requested. Several us talked the contractor into approaching the manager, and he did.
It was at that point a 44 magnum appeared from under the managers coat. I honestly am a bit blank as to what happened next but the bottom line was that we LEFT.
Several weeks later a call from the Union confirmed there was some money available. I took it and was happy to be alive.
Charts included: Yes We Can Can Allen Toussaint Cloudburst Leroy Kirkland, Jimmy Harris Jada The Pointer Sisters, J. Cohen River Boulevard Barbara Mauritz Old Songs Bruce Good, John Shine That's How I Feel Wilton Felder Sugar The Pointer Sisters Pains and Tears Norman Landsberg Naked Foot The Neutron Dance Wang Dang Doodle Willie Dixon
gR☺
Stories from the Road – McPherson Kansas Pit from Hell
In the late 60’s we arrived late for a gig at an ancient auditorium. The orchestra scurried to the basement and entered the pit. There was little light and a dank dark musty smell. A few of us encountered webs across the chairs and music stands. We pulled out the horns and started the show.
After the first portion of the program, one by one we began to itch and scratch. At first just a little, and in about 15 minutes none of us could play.
We exited the pit much to the dismay of the conductor upstairs on stage.
When we hit the light we were all covered with mosquitoes and large red welsts. It was a week before I healed up.
I’ll never forget McPherson Kansas
gR☺
Most gigs come down to the money. Then there are a few that I would have played for no money at all. Some you have to play because you can’t say no to the contractor or he won’t hire you for a good paying job – politics are alive and well in the music business. There are several “levels” of gigs, and each level has it’s own set of rules. The country club job generally means you play in tight quarters, at lower than ideal volumes, and are at the mercy of a leader trying to impress the wealthy clientele.
The rules: • Dress better than you play • Don’t eat the food • Park at least 2 blocks away from the back door ☺ • Never ask how long the set is • Write down the tune numbers, don’t try to keep up with the hasty set list call • Bring every mute known to man • Forget about getting doubling scale for flugel • Never listen to the singer(s) if you expect to play in tune • Sure this is the last tune? Save your chops for another hour of “Rock” tunes.
You park in the back with the kitchen help, and enter the same way. The bandstand is jammed so close your bell is touching the music. The leader demands every mute know to mankind to assure you are playing “authentically.” The extension cords lie in wait to trip you, and by the way, you are expected to wrap up your light, put your book back in order, and sneak out quietly.
You might get a check for less than you bargained, and expect it to few weeks late, and the union could care less. The next time the leader calls he assures you he was ripped off on the last gig, but this one is the big break, and he wants only the best players. Of course you’ve already talked with 4 other players that have turned down the gig, but he insists you are his main man.
The book is always in disarray and the leader calls up the sets so fast you have no hope of setting it all up. You end up hoping the guy next to you has the numbers up you missed, or that the tune starts with the rhythm section. Naturally as you reach the end of the page and turn, the next two pages are reversed and the arrangement was copied in pencil, by a high school student for free lessons.
