Yes, my father was a trumpet player and my first teacher. He stopped playing after college, but up until a few years ago, he always insisted on playing a few notes whenever I came home for a visit-still showing me how it's done! He has a Harry James hand vibrato and a very good tone. My mother sang in the choir in school and both parents loved to have music in the house when I was young. I heard everything from Sinatra and Dave Brubeck to the Tchaikovsky symphonies. To this day, I don't believe I could ever concentrate on only one kind of music-I really enjoy constantly switching from one genre to another.
3. What made you decide to play trumpet?
My father forbade me to touch his trumpet when I was a child, so of course I wanted to play it in the worst way! I often took it out when he was at work. I never ever considered another instrument save for a brief dabble with the guitar, but I did think about switching to French horn during the time I had so many physical problems playing the trumpet.
4. At what age did you start?
Other than my secret sessions at home, I formally started in the school band program in the third grade-about age eight. In return for playing my dad's horn, I solemnly promised him I would practice for 30 minutes every day. Unfortunately, after the novelty wore off, I found that the trumpet wasn't as much fun-I actually had to practice! Rather than do my assigned music, I spent my time making up tunes or trying to figure out melodies. I knew nothing about keys-I just picked a starting note and discovered each successive one by trial and error. After doing this type of practice for a long while, I was eventually able to immediately play the note I heard in my head-some call it relative pitch. To this day, I usually don't bother with the key of a tune; I am much more comfortable playing completely by ear. It works well until the changes get really hard!
5. On leaving your education, have you always been a full time musician?
I have always been a teacher, even when I was enrolled in school, and always a professional musician at the same time. I have been on the faculty of Ithaca College for 16 years. I also taught at the University of North Texas and 4 years in the public schools of California. During all of that time, as now, I have been a very active performer.
6. Describe your early experiences of semi / pro work.
I was in small jazz groups through high school, and for a long time, I thought I was going to be a jazz musician. Jimmy Lyons, the founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival, offered me a full scholarship to the University of North Texas, but for reasons that make no sense today, I turned it down! I also played with the local orchestra, but it wasn't until I met Dr. Ritchie Clendenin, my teacher at California State University Fresno, that I really wanted to learn to be a Classical performer. Ritchie is still one of the best trumpet players I have ever heard, and I believe he is not as well known as he deserves to be-perhaps because he is by nature a rather humble individual. One of the greatest learning experiences of my life was sitting across from him in the CSUF Faculty Brass Quintet and trying to keep up! At this time I was an undergraduate, playing in a quintet with my professors-what a truly wonderful experience that was. I still hear Ritchie's sound in my mind's ear, and I still try to reproduce it. It was his conception that initially helped me to form my own ideas about expression and interpretation. While I lived in Fresno, I was one of the busiest trumpeters in town-I played every type of music with the best musicians in each idiom: studio work, jazz groups, chamber and orchestral music, church jobs, shows and musicals, Italian bands, club dates and weddings. It was there that I learned to play music with conviction and the proper style. When I went to the University of North Texas, I did the same type of work in Dallas and Fort Worth, but with much higher power groups and musicians.
7. Who were your teachers?
In addition to my father and Ritchie, there was Carole Klein, a wonderful player and teacher from the San Francisco Bay area who helped me a great deal. Carole insisted I learn to transpose, though I didn't want to at the time. ("What? Forgot your Sachse book again? Well don't worry, I have one right here!") I also had the good fortune to study with John James Haynie at the University of North Texas-one of the truly great trumpet pedagogues of our time and the most organized teacher I have ever known. The trumpet program at North Texas was incredible-we had better than 100 players on campus when I arrived. I cannot begin to tell you how much John Haynie gave me-I owe as much to him for his help to my playing as to his influence on my approach to teaching. I also studied with Leonard Candelaria, a brilliant teacher and player who refined and opened my sound and taught me a great deal about being a professional. During the summer and breaks when I was not studying with Mr. Haynie, I had some lessons with Don Jacoby, one of the most beloved and influential teachers of the trumpet. It was not unusual for a famous player like 'Doc' Severinsen or Clark Terry to call Jake in the middle of your lesson! If you couldn't afford a lesson, he let you sit on the couch in the basement and observe other people's lessons. Jake had a big heart, and his students were considered members of his family. We all miss him. His approach to the trumpet was solid, basic, and made sense. He really helped me improve my range and endurance among other things. There is one other person: James Stamp. During a tour with singer Johnny Mathis, I developed a bump on my lip right on the buzzing surface that stopped the vibration of all notes above second line "g". I consulted every teacher, tried every exercise, changed mouthpieces and horns, had my teeth straightened with a retainer, and even started taking a real estate course because I thought my career was over. Somebody suggested I see Stamp, and having nothing to lose, I soon found myself in Whittier, California, near Los Angeles, sitting in his kitchen. I had only one lesson, but within two weeks, I was playing again. I can't be strong enough in my endorsement of his materials. If they are done properly, most players will see major improvements in sound, range, endurance, ease of production, and general efficiency of performance. Like anything else, it is the way you do these exercises that counts, and it may take some time for changes to occur.
8. What Orchestral experience have you had?
I have been principal of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra for about 14 years, and have played principal with the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Texas Baroque Society, Bear Valley Festival Orchestra, Skaneateles Music Festival Orchestra, and Madera Symphony Orchestra. I played third/assistant principal with the Fort Worth Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, and Monterey County Symphony, and I've played with the Glimmerglass, Fort Worth, and Tri-Cities Opera Orchestras. I also currently play extra with the Syracuse Symphony.
9. What session (Jingles / TV) experience have you had?
I did good amount of jingles and other freelance recording in California and Dallas, but now I only do the occasional CD-not so much of that kind of work in upstate New York.
10. What small group / ensemble experience have you had?
I am a founding member and former first trumpet of the Dallas Brass. I really thought my life's work after North Texas was to tour with a professional brass quintet. I really love quintet playing: you get to play every style, every horn and you are one on a part-there is no hiding in the group if you run out of chops! Unlike some people, I also loved the road, but when my family came along, it was hard to be away. I currently play with the Ithaca Brass, the faculty brass quintet at Ithaca College, and I have been in many quintets over the years. In some ways, I feel I am particularly suited to that kind of playing. I also play with a new music band called Ensemble X that is getting some attention. This year I was featured on the Berio: Sequenza X, one of the most ungrateful solos in the repertoire, and I have played the premiere of more than a dozen pieces that were written for me. New music is a challenge and a lot of work, but I believe it is important to hear it and I am committed to playing it. I have played with every kind of group from the Dallas Cowboys Band (I did my solos on piccolo because I couldn't be heard otherwise!) to the period instrument group Sonare on cornetto, natural trumpet and crumhorn. (We were in full costume and in character at a renaissance faire-I was Franco Bassano del Mano, trumpet principale to the court of the Duke of Ellington!)
11. Other playing experiences?
I regularly play with the Gap Mangione Big Band (Chuck's older brother), the Central New York Jazz Orchestra, a modern jazz quintet called the Greenhouse Effect, and I toured and recorded with a traditional jazz group called the Lowdown Alligator Jass Band. I have toured or performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Hope, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers, Keith Brion's New Sousa Band, and many others. I've been a soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Sacramento Jazz Festival, and The Thousand Islands Jazz festival, as well as featured on the stages of the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Constitution Hall and New York City's Town Hall.
12. I believe you have a solo recording of a commissioned piece online?
Yes, the recording of Dana Wilson's "I Remember…"
is available on the International Trumpet Guild Web Site ..FYI, I had been asking Dana, who teaches at Ithaca College, to write a trumpet piece for years. He is a fine jazz pianist, so when the competition category "Trumpet Alone in the Jazz Idiom" came up, I really pestered him! He borrowed every jazz solo transcription book in my library and in a few weeks, he came up with this wonderful piece. I only had 4 days to learn it before we recorded it. I also premiered Dana's new sonata "Masks" which we just recorded for a CD of his music to be released later. He is the only composer to win two ITG composition competitions and he was just commissioned to write a concerto for trumpet and wind ensemble that Jim Thompson will premiere at the Manchester ITG Conference the summer of 2002. Dana really knows how to write for the trumpet!
13. Any news on new projects?
I am currently writing a book on trumpet pedagogy and technique that I hope to finish this summer. I did some research in the area of sport science and psychomotor learning a few years ago and found a lot of new material that relates directly to learning and performing the trumpet.
14. Favourite four albums?
This is an incredibly hard question Roddy!
"The Thad Jones /Mel Lewis Quartet" album with Rufus Reid and Harold Danko is an amazing live session, and "Miles Smiles" still blows me away, especially the tune "Circle," a perfect example of five people communicating with one another in the moment. Rolf Smedvig's "Digital Telemann" is one of those sides I can listen to over and over, but I don't know if it is still in print. And then there's the Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra RCA Red Label recording of the Chicago Symphony with Reiner conducting. Kind of makes it all the more real and human with that clam in the second trumpet!
15. Favourite two movies?
Another hard question! I suppose the adaptation of Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird' would be one, and to contrast, 'Blade Runner' directed by Ridley Scott, but I could easily come up with a few more.
16.Favourite three foods?
I really enjoy Italian (I make a pretty good lasagna), and I love Chinese food. I also eat pizza constantly.
17. Non-musical hobbies / points of interest you enjoy?
I am currently learning the Japanese language; since my youth I have been interested in Eastern culture and I am planning a trip to Japan this spring. I am also always in the middle of several books and spend much of my free time reading.
18. Do you take days off from playing? (How does it affect you?)
I believe just about everyone can benefit from a day off once in a while. Sometimes I have to pry the trumpet out of the hands of an especially dedicated student who doesn't understand that the reason s/he is having chop problems is that there has been too much muscle breakdown and not enough muscle rebuilding. Trumpet playing, like any complex psychomotor skill, is governed by physical laws. Although we are all different, everybody needs a rest sometime. Like most people, after a day off, I feel great!
19. Three Trumpet tips you wish to share with the readers.
I have had more than my share of troubles on the trumpet and I have given it up a hundred times only to come back to the practice room and start again. These things are not new or original, but they have certainly been true for me.
First, it is not a matter of strength to play high and loud and long-it is a matter of refining the coordination of many muscles to the point that one is using only the muscles necessary for the act. It takes years of repetition and trial and error, and it takes almost irrational persistence. I have often said that the next step a player takes on the road to improvement involves doing less, not more. If you can stand/sit tall, take a full, relaxed breath and blow freely, you've got most of it licked!
Second, nobody can teach us how to play. A teacher can be a guide, a resource, and an inspiration, but we must apply what we learn to our own bodies. There is simply no short cut to fine performance: we have to spend some serious time in the woodshed.
Last point: I have been to that place where it seems utterly hopeless, and I am here to tell you that if you want it bad enough, it will be yours. But be careful what you wish for!
20. End of interview sentiment.
Thanks, Roddy, for the honor of your invitation. I don't know if there is anything of worth here for your readers, but I would be pleased if it were so. My very best wishes to you!
Frank Gabriel Campos (6th Feb 2002)
Thank you very much indeed for sharing your thoughts with the ' Trumpet Web Community '.