W Scott

Yep, Herb Alpert. The music is still fun to listen too, especially the Whipped Cream albumn!

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trumpetgirl612

umm idk exactly, to be honest with you, in elementary school. we had an assembly to show the instruemnts you could choose, and I thought the trumpet was cool <and super obnoxious> so i chose it. for yrs i was the best trumpt player arnd....until i got my braces off frosh yr....now i am the second or third greatest arnd...but no matter, i prefer to be in the humlbe minority i suppose

Emily

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More than just a trumpet player

Kevin Hilman

Great topic!

The first thing that inspired me to play trumpet was hearing the fanfares at the beginning of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as a child. John Williams' music gave me such a rush that I knew I had to be a part of it.

Later, I was able to hear Doc Severinsen live on a couple of different occaisions and absolutely fell in love with his fat, rich sound. I always try to imagine Doc's sound when I play jazz solos.

Now days I am inspired by great orchestral players like Phil Smith, Bud Herseth and our own Manny. These guys inspire me because they can play so precisely while still sounding very musical and not mechanical.

Kevin

Adrian_H

I've always loved the sound of the trumpet from as long as I can remember, so can't really put the initial inspiration down to anyone. But one of my early teachers Phil Garlick, made playing the trumpet fun and that really got me going, along with another of Phil's pupils (and a guy who is still a good friend today) who was 2 or 3 years above me at school. He was (and still is) a great player and was often the player I looked up to in rehearsals and thought, I want to be as good as that (still get that feeling now!) He also introduced me to recordings of Wynton, Maurice, Jon Faddis, Maynard et al. So I was inspired to play and improve thanks to Adam lending me his CD collection on a regular basis.

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Jimi Michiel

Oddly enough, I would have to say Allen Vizzuti. I went to a masterclass he did when I was in middle school and was blown away. Later that year I heard him play the Tomasi with the Syracuse Symphony. I can't say that I am still a huge fan (I don't think I've ever heard a recording of his), but being so young and hearing someone play with such facility really left an impression.
Plus, he did this thing where he unswcrewed his valve caps and played carnival of venice so that it sounded like he was being accompanied by percussion. Very cool, especially in middle school
Jimi

Lo

I wanted to play tuba (yeah i know) when i first had the choice of playing an instrument. My teacher was going around the class asking everyone what they wanted to play and they responded. Seeing as how all my friends chose trumpet, i did too. lol. Not the best reason, but, one i haven't regretted. After that i've been inspired mostly by Maurice Andre and Wynton Marsalis (classical stuff). I really love the smooth sounds these players get out of their horns.

Bear

you know, reading through all the respones so far it's really interesting to me how almost everyone says something about the "sound" that inspired them... so a new question, is "sound" the end all?

Manny Laureano

Tim,

For me it has always been the spirit behind the sound. Yes, the sound was a factor but I liked Herb Alpert, Al Hirt, and Mendez at the same time, very, very early in my career. Three very different players. But the spirit behind what they did was very appealing to me.

ML

camelbrass

I started playing Eb Tuba at about 9 years old in brass bands in Australia. Then went on to play BBb Tuba for the next 15 years. I've only come to trumpet in the last 5 or 6 years after a nearly 20 year lay-off.

As a kid I loved Herb Alpert and the TJB (saw them live in Sydney in the late 60s), and my dad was a tenor sax/clarinetist so I had access to some great 30s/40/50s jazz/big band stuff at home. Artie Shaw, Dorsey, Kenton, Miller, Goodman you know the routine. My 'legit' listening was more brass band inspired.. I guess I liked the whole package and didn't really focus in on one section of the brass. While playing in brass bands I started to attend the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's youth concerts who had a great brass section in the late 60s and that opened up another avenue for listening and being inspired. It was the sound though...be it orchestra,big band, or Louis Armstrong I'm into the sound..trombone,tuba or trumpet. That was it though, hooked on music for a lifetime and now I play the trumpet am happier with that than ever. Carting round a BBb Tuba as a kid is a pain in the b....

Regards,

Trevor

Bear

ML, good point man, the "spirit behind the sound"... I like that. It's kinda like how you hear a sound and you can name the player, like Doc or MF or Herseth, Smith, etc.

Man, with all the people on here and all the concerts collectivly everyone has been too. Can you imagine how many stories could be told?...wow...

Random thing: Anyone out there have a Monette Prana XLT Bb horn they wanna lemme try out? I've borrow and played a friends 2000LT... Man, best horn on the planet, but college kid... yo tengo un pocito dínero