Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Satish Robertson. I'm an Afro- American male, age 25, hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey, where I work as a security officer. Furthermore I play trumpet; I'm an ameteur with a bit of professional experience. I play in various jazz ensembles, regularly attend jam sessions & workshops, and I play for my church.
I'm what one would call a late bloomer in that I didn't take up the trumpet until two months shy of my 21st birthday, summer 2001. My inspiration was Miles Davis whose music I've deeply gotten into that year after watching the Ken Burns Jazz series on PBS. Now I knew Miles for his cover of "Human Nature" but through the PBS program I would realize that I didn't know jack. Up to this point I was already a huge fan of jazz but was largely indifferent towards and underexposed to jazz trumpet; I dug saxmen like 'Trane & Stan Getz, guitarists like Wes Montgomery & George Benson, and was a sucker for any bit of jazz piano I could get my ears around. Now I would discover the high- flying exitement, the jaw- dropping virtuosic feats, and the passionate expressiveness of jazz trumpeters like Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldrige, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown- and Miles Davis.
By May 2001 I'd say I amassed a decent jazz collection in general and an impressive Miles Davis collection in particular. Satch, Diz, and Clifford Brown were in there too, but Miles' melancholy sound and brooding lyricism spoke volumes to me like nothing else. Somewhere between his playing on "Saeta" and "Footprints", I was done in; I decided that I was going to buy a trumpet. And so on June 21, 2001 I bought my first trumpet, a gold laquered Lolite.
Taking up the trumpet changed my life. In 2001 I was an aimless, depressed, 345 lb, smoking, drinking homebody with no self- esteem; by the conclusion of my first year of learning trumpet, I had quit the smokes and the heavy drinking, lost over 100 lbs, and had gained much confidence, and an overall sense of purpose. I studied under my former piano teacher the first 3 months only to flounder on my own for the next two years, playing primarily by ear. In October 2003 I learned of these free jazz workshops, semi- regularly conducted in my neighborhood by the world class, New Jersey based Spirit of Life Ensemble and you best believe, I began attending them RELIGIOUSLY. The road would be long and arduous to say the least.
From unlearning bad playing habits to relearning how to read music, to working on scales and chords that I've never before known the names to, right on down to pushing my chops to their physical limits, the jazz workshop showed me the very definition of hard work and sacrifice. My challenge was two-fold in that I was still learning the fundimentals of my instrument while trying to learn jazz. Gotta love it.
By early 2005 the Spirit of Life Ensmble felt enough about my progress to begin featuring me in their local gigs; eventually other bands started noticing me as well. As of this writing, I have done several gigs with them, as well as a couple with former Lionel Hampton protegeé Jason "Malletman" Taylor. I've played with local bands for the public schools, I even did a gospel revival. And I STILL attend the Spirit of Life Workshops RELIGIOUSLY.
If it's the Lord's will I can see myself over the next 5 years or so working my way up to the big time, perhaps world class. I would like to show fellow "late bloomers" that anything is possible through dilligent study, hard work, and perseverance. Whatever fate lands my way, I give gratitude to God for allowing me to experience the sweet joy that comes from playing good music with good people. To the members of TrumpetMaster.com, my thanks to you for reading, bless you all. Time to practice!