The importance of the trumpet in jazz cannot be overstated, and the legends who have made their mark, from Louis Armstrong to Roy Eldridge, from Clifford Brown to Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, will all be the topic of the day when three of the finest trumpet players in jazz – the romantic, intimate sound of Chris Botti, the hard bopping Roy Hargrove, and the legendary Clark Terry – join me on the stage. What a wonderful cross section of trumpet sounds from the legendary Clark Terry, who seems to make the trumpet actually talk when he plays, to the high energy innovations of Roy Hargrove, to the beautiful ballad playing of Chris Botti. We left the show feeling we knew much more about the trumpet than when we arrived.
Clark Terry - Clark Terry is a world-class trumpeter whose career in jazz spans more than 60 years. He has received a GRAMMY Award, two GRAMMY certificates, and three GRAMMY nominations, and has played for seven U.S. Presidents. One of jazz’s true luminaries, he has composed more than 200 jazz songs and made more than 300 recordings. An NEA Jazz Master, Clark gained international recognition when he accepted NBC’s offer to make him its first African-American staff musician. He became a television star as one of the spotlighted players in the “Tonight Show” band, where he scored a smash hit with "Mumbles." Today, between performances, Clark continues to share his expertise and encouragement with his students. Check out www.clarkterry.com for more information.
Roy Hargrove –
Roy Hargrove is one of the hardest-working and most versatile players in jazz. He was already playing at an advanced level by junior high school, when he was discovered by a visiting Wynton Marsalis. In the past three years, the trumpeter ventured into the black pop mainstream as a collaborator with D'Angelo (2000's GRAMMY-winning Voodoo album) and on albums by Erykah Badu. Stylistically, every album Hargrove has released has been different from the one before. Family, Habana, and Moment to Moment have all been GRAMMY- nominated critical and commercial triumphs. In 2005, Roy, Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker won the GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album for Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall. Check out www.royhargrove.com for more information.
Chris Botti – Chris Botti is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer, and a charismatic performer whose recordings have made him a virtual genre-of-one within the realm of contemporary jazz. His album When I Fall In Love tapped into the public's desire for classic romantic jazz sounds; hailed as an “instant classic,” it quickly hit #1 on both the Traditional Jazz albums sales chart (remaining there for 17 weeks) and the Top Jazz overall albums chart. Botti’s big break came when he was “discovered” by Oprah Winfrey, who presented him on her show in 2004. Within a week of his performance, he had sold more than 50,000 CDs – and he hasn’t stopped since. Check out www.chrisbotti.com for more information.
