Manny Laureano

David,

Wow... can I tell you that my eyes felt as though they misted a bit reading that? It was tough for two reasons: apparently it didn't go well, that particular show, and also it seemed almost a review the critic wanted to write.

To say that Andre has feet of clay is to insinuate that there was really nothing there to begin with. That's what that expression means, that there's no substance to a figure of respect. One would have to be an idiot or ill-informed, at best, about Andre's playing to believe that.

I wasn't there. I can't substantiate what really happened but the review borders on the vindictive when the writer speculates as to how much M.A. made for playing and suggesting that he should have refunded the patrons their admission price or give the money back to the presenter.

Anyways, thanks for submission... hard to take but a fact of life, I guess.

ML

davidquinlan

I wasn't at the concert either, but my Sister and her husband were there and it was more or less how they described it on 4BarsRest. I have to say I was shocked too to hear a first hand account of the concert when on the phone to my sister after the event. Like most trumpet players, M Andre is one of my heros!!

I have read other similar reviews (less sarcastic!) of that concert too in other UK brass band publications.

(I'm not a great fan of 4barsrest's reviews and editorials, but they seem to have placed themselves as the voice of the Brass Banding community here in the UK. )

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David Quinlan
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oj

This is an old tread, but since several of my favourite trumpet artists are mentioned here, I wanted to chime in.

First, it is a bit sad that Maurice Andre continued to play public concerts after his health started to really bother him. But, you can understand that he wanted to keep giving concerts. That was what he loved doing.

Like Manny, I have heard him live several times when he was at his peek. One time, I heard him warm up and test the concert hall in Oslo. Wow, did he fill the hall with a gorgeous sound.

For about 10 years, I have had a tribute page for him. Several people from different places in the world have contacted me about it. Last year a guy in Switzerland, Hanspeter, sent me several clips from Andre's last concert. (I have two clips on the Andre page). Another person, Walter in Germany is also a great admirer of Maurice and he and I have a project where we try to make a database of all his recordings (with images of the LPs and CDs etc.) If you have any old Andre LPs and a digital camera I really would appreciate if you mailed it to me. Look up the database and check if it is registered!

All this can be found here:

http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/andre/

If you go to my startpage, you will also find a section of many of the great trumpet artists I admire:

http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/artist/

* Rafael Méndez
* Maurice André
* Bud Herseth
* Timofei Dokshizer
* Clifford Brown

Ole

cornetguy

Dokshizer Died March 16th this year. Very nice tribute in the June 2005 ITG Journal

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Per aspera ad astra

JJ

I've heard Maurice Andre five times in concert (in '82 and '83 in New York, and in '00, '01, and '03 in Munich), and, sadly, can only confirm the reports of the decline in his playing.

Let me first say that I will always treasure the New York concerts as probably the greatest trumpet playing I'll ever hear on this side of the great divide. By '00, he was still playing very well, but the decline was already clearly evident. A year later, his playing had deteriorated dramatically. Sadly, the '03 concert can truthfully only be described as an absolute disaster. Out of respect, I won't provide too many details, but it was very similar to the concert described on 4barsrest.com. It was still great to see him one last time though, and I'll always have my memories of those two incredible nights at Carnegie Hall ...

JJ

trickg

In the late 80s when I was in high school, Maurice Andre was considered, without question, to be the greatest trumpet player alive. That was then, this is now. nearly 20 years has passed since I first became aware of Maurice Andre and anyone can tell you that much can happen in that length of time. 20 years is a long time - I heard in the very late 80s that Maurice Andre had developed emphysema and was thinking of retiring. I don't know about the emphysema, but it's hard to fault a man who continues to try to do what he loves to do, especially if the goal is to make music.

On the subject of Maynard Ferguson, anyone who has heard any of his recordings prior to him going commercial can attest that the man was (and still is, in my opinion) a force to be reconned with. He could bop with the best of them, but he did it with such power, finesse and sound, and he did it higher than anyone at that time. It's no wonder that he's still at the top of my list of jazz trumpet players that I listen to.

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

MalinTrumpet

I first heard Maurice Andre live when he came to New York and played a day time recital at the old Manhattan School of Music in East Harlem. I think it was his first visit to New York. He opened with a concerto on the piccolo. Everyone in the audience was stunned; no one had ever heard anything like it. After the aplause finally died down he came to the mike and through a translater said "this is the Selmer piccolo trumpet". The audience broke up into hysterical laughter. He laughed along with us. I remember he also played the Haydn on an Eb trumpet.

After he finished playing, he asked (again through a translater) if there were any questions. Someone stood up and asked if it would be possible to meet and shake the hand of this incredible musician. It was Harry Glantz. The whole audience was pretty star studded.

I also heard him in recital at Town Hall and soloing with an orchestra at Carnegie.

Unforgettable!



Larry Malin