The Carmine Caruso Legacy

July 11, 2022December 11, 2024 Leslie Saidak4 Comments

I think that the concept of a saxophonist and former violinist becoming one of the most well-respected and well-known trumpet (and brass) teachers is a fascinating one. His callisthenic approach will be well-known to many readers through his publications, but in addition to this concentration on the physical synchronisation of different muscle groups, he also built a reputation on positivity and for really nurturing his students.

So many top players over the years attribute a huge portion of their success to Carmine Caruso – I was fortunate enough to be able to gather the thoughts of four of these fabulous players, in order to get to the bottom of how their experiences with Carmine influenced them and their careers: Marvin Stamm, John Thirkell, Randy Brecker and Markus Stockhausen.

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Why did you go to study with Carmine Caruso?

MARVIN STAMM: I had just settled in New York City in late 1966 and was beginning to be a part of the jazz and studio scene. I mentioned to friend and fellow trumpet player Burt Collins that I wanted to continue to study and work on certain aspects of my playing. Coming off the road, I was bothered by a few things that I felt needed to be addressed. Burt told me about his study with Carmine, that he was a trouble-shooter and problem-solver. He also mentioned a number of players who had been helped through studying with Carmine, among them the great lead player Al Porcino and others, and he felt Carmine would be the teacher to see.

JOHN THIRKELL: I was at Leeds College of Music when I first came across the Caruso Method. I had studied several other method books – Claude Gordon, Louis Maggio etc. – but something about the concise and prescriptive nature of the Caruso appealed to my sensibilities. Do A and B will happen, then do C and D will result, and so on. That kind of regime somehow clicked with me and I quickly became a devotee. My then trumpet teacher was, I’m afraid, very much against such perceived radical methods but I think that only made me more determined. I’ve always been (and still am) one for swimming against the tide.

RANDY BRECKER: I was playing in the Duke Pearson big band in ’66 and the other 3 trumpet players, (Marvin Stamm, Burt Collins and Joe Shepley) had studied with him and swore by him and said I should see him to improve my range.

MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN: In January 1978 I came to New York. It was a winter with heavy snow. New York was peaceful and quiet. I contacted Marvin Stamm, whom I admired from his recordings with the Pat Williams Orchestra. I told him that I would like to have lessons with him. He denied and said that instead I should go to his teacher, Carmine Caruso, which then I did. Nevertheless, I had a good time with Marvin, he took me several times to studio sessions and gave me the opportunity to feel the scene, to meet other players like Alan Rubin, Lew Soloff, and also, I witnessed a rehearsal with the Maynard Ferguson Band in some hotel, a great experience at the time.

What were your impressions of the first lesson?

MARVIN: Carmine was one of the most positive thinkers I have ever met, and he strived to infuse this positive attitude into all his students. Any progress, any improvement, no matter how small, was recognized as progress and needed to be appreciated in that light. My impression after my first lesson was that I had really found the teacher who could help me over whatever obstacles I felt were a problem.

JOHN: My overriding memory of the first lesson was how energizing it was. He had the uncanny ability to make you feel like you could achieve absolutely anything, and he removed much of the worry I had associated with playing and practicing. He always said that, if you are following his instructions implicitly and not making progress, then the fault was in his teaching rather than in you. That idea was incredibly liberating and allowed me to focus on the process rather than worry about any innate ability. Just do it! I felt that sense of positive energy every single time I came out of a lesson.

Also, I couldn’t believe how little I actually played. I would say in the 90 minutes I was with him, I played probably no more than 15 minutes maximum, the rest of the time being taken up with the explanation of his theories and the idea of allowing your body to adapt and find the solutions rather than you consciously trying to find them. That was a common thread in all of the lessons and I would go as far as to say that he was as much a psychologist as he was a trumpet teacher. He talked you into playing well. There is a common idea that, as a trumpet player if you think you are going to miss it, you’ll miss it. Caruso, as with so many other things, turned that into a positive by inculcating the idea that, by knowing that you will hit it, you’ll hit it. And the more you know it, the more you’ll hit it.

RANDY: Well he had those airline noise-reducing huge headphones on the whole time and talked a lot… and said a bunch of surprising things about how to approach his exercises (don’t worry about your sound, don’t worry if you miss a note etc.

MARKUS: With Carmine I had seven lessons. Each time he would write me the next exercise on a little sheet of paper. So, in the beginning I just had the six notes I think, and at the end of the month the full system. His book was in preparation and had not yet been released, and he did not care so much about it, I had the expression. His teaching, though he had a system, seemed very individual.

His room was dusty, with old book shelves full of music, and a fan. The heating was hot, he just wore an undershirt, and often put on his headphones while I played, the kind they use in airports. Now I can understand him very well, because also for me the trumpet often is loud to my ears, and I use some plugs or phones when I play or teach a lot. He was very kind with me, like a father. His eyes were loving and distant at the same time. He was very patient, but clear, to the point.

What were the big changes that you found from the way that you had previously approached the trumpet?

MARVIN: I’m not sure there were big changes in my approach to the trumpet. What I was looking to find were solutions to a problem, and I believe any big changes were more in my thinking—that is, in discovering how and what to practice to overcome these issues.

Problem-solving, of course, is most always a slow process. The time during which I studied with Carmine took place before cell phones, tablets and laptops, even the Internet, so everything moved at a slower pace than it would today. Musicians’ expectations of progress were based on the “long view” rather than how much could be learned in the short term. Carmine had a unique ability to recognize and analyse individual problems, so the exercises he gave were designed for each student to assimilate corrections into their playing slowly, without disrupting their ability to continue working while at the same time finding answers to their musical problems. The exercises were also meant to become permanent solutions that would serve the players throughout their performance career. So, the big changes happened over time and in small increments.

I approached Carmine to help overcome the “break” I had at the top of the staff—to close the space in that area so as to provide a smooth path from top to bottom. Meantime, Carmine also saw problem areas that he could fix while helping me with what I perceived to be my only impediment. I was using movement or manipulation with my hands for one thing; another was playing a note before properly setting for it, kind of like “jumping on a running horse.” Carmine also knew that I wanted to build stamina and broaden my sound, thereby making my lead-playing stronger and more effective. All this we achieved over time. Patience was the key to the results I desired.

JOHN: The idea that, whilst practicing the Caruso method, you should not worry at all about musicality or the sound. This was purely calisthenics. Building muscle. Pushing the body a tiny bit further every time and allowing it to find a way to cope. Rather than make arbitrary changes in order to achieve an objective, by pushing the body it will find its own way to cope with the added demands. Again, this is incredibly liberating and allows you to stop worrying and just focus on the process.

Tapping the foot is also a big part of the method – that and the breath attack on the first note of an exercise – the idea being to train all of the disparate muscles required to play a note to come together at the exact same time. Again, subliminally training the body to automatically synchronise everything.

RANDY: Better high register and more flexibility.

MARKUS: His exercises focused my embouchure and gave me strength and endurance and developed my high register.

Could you feel a big difference in your playing immediately after starting studying with Carmine, or was it a slower process to see results?

MARVIN: Some things were immediate, but the bulk of what I wanted to achieve was a slower process.

JOHN: I think I pretty much felt a difference straight away, but this was probably more a result of the incredible sense of self belief which he gave you. You came away from a lesson feeling that nothing was impossible and that certainly manifested in the way I played thereafter. That confidence removes much of the doubt that holds back progress and I found myself playing with much more abandon. On a more physiological level though, pretty soon I found my range, not necessarily expanding that much but certainly becoming much more solid and dependable and I think that was as a result of the muscular development.

RANDY: Pretty fast I must say.

Were there any aspects of the teaching that contradicted what you had been working on previously?

MARVIN: Yes and no. His approach was quite different. Carmine was very “up front” that he was not working on students’ musical values, but on their physical attributes, striving to solidify a structural approach to playing the instrument. He told his students NOT to put aside playing etudes, solo pieces, practicing Arban’s, Schlossberg, Colin or other methods. He always stressed to me the importance of mixing in his studies with all the others that I had been working on, especially the musical ones.

If there were any contradictory elements to Carmine’s approach, they might be the use of nose-breathing, the long-settings, and the tapping of one’s foot to create the rhythmic movement of moving from tone to tone.

Nose-breathing allows one to have no movement of the corners of the mouth when taking a breath, thereby making possible a long setting, a consistent or constant placement of the horn to the lips. Tapping of the foot to set up the “time” meant that when moving from one tone to another, the only thing one had to be aware of was to consciously move “to the beat,” thus eliminating having to think of the many other elements of playing the instrument—the tongue, air, and muscles. Only moving to “time.”

Carmine’s exercises might be considered by some to be contrary to the usual structural exercises as those utilized by Schlossberg, Arban, St. Jacome, and Charles Colin. The approach was certainly different. And though I did some work out of the Baermann Clarinet Method, this was not really for any technical aspect, but rather to work over the break that I hoped to minimize to the fullest. All the exercises other than the Baermann were Carmine’s. There was also a strong focus on using dynamics in his exercises, both in a typical and atypical manner. These were used to work the embouchure in a more arduous way, making actual performance of demanding music much easier.

JOHN: The idea of not being concerned with musicality or sound was very different but you soon learn to separate out the Caruso part of your practice from the other, more music focused stuff. He would use the analogy of a footballer (American football, not proper football) working out in the gym with weights. Where were the weights during the football game? But the weight training was of fundamental importance to his performance on the field.

RANDY: Well I always worked on my sound and sound didn’t matter when doing his callisthenic exercises.

MARKUS: He knew all the struggles that I was going through at the time. My embouchure had to be dry while playing, at least the top lip, which had been a problem for me during concerts when I sweated a lot, especially with spot lights on me. His pedal tone exercises followed by the chord pedals gave me a wet embouchure, resulting in much better playing possibilities.

Did you continue with his methods exactly as prescribed, or did you need to adapt them to fit in better with your work schedule, etc.?

MARVIN: No, I didn’t find a need to adapt anything to fit my work schedule. Carmine always stressed to practice his exercises as he prescribed in the lessons, but when performing in my work, approach things as I usually did. He said the effects of his exercises working their way into my playing would happen by osmosis—that it should happen seamlessly. In my experience, I found this to be true.

I tried to use his methods exactly as prescribed. As is the case with any fine teacher, however, if he felt at some juncture that a change in approach might be more beneficial, he would make the necessary change. I studied with Carmine six and one-half years and continue to include a number of his exercises in my daily practice, along with a number from Laurie Frink, Dennis Najoom, and the classic methods mentioned earlier.

JOHN: For several years I followed his methods to the letter but in time, as I got busier and busier as a pro player, I slowly watered down the routine as it can be physically quite demanding, and it becomes more important that your chops are in shape for your session rather than completing the whole routine. The Caruso done thoroughly means you are pushing your body more and more and, by overdoing it you can leave your chops a little shredded. I remember explaining the lessons as taught by Caruso to Guy Barker and, being Guy, he went mad and practiced it for hours. Well, of course it did more harm than good, and he pretty soon gave it up. The idea is to go through the day’s routine, take a break then move on to your regular practice. These days I tend to stick to the 6 notes exercise as part of my warm up and maybe once a week do the full routine.

RANDY: Tried just to do what he said to do, fit them into what I was already doing, but I applied his ideas about timing to other things I did like the Adam Routine warm up.

MARKUS: At times I would overdo the exercises. Especially the soft-loud-soft, as well as the loud-soft-loud exercises were very strenuous to me when I did them on a daily basis. Nevertheless, I continued the exercises for quite some years, not always very regularly, but still. Within time I found my own way, a little more moderate, and surely not applying the full system, I am aware of that. I do the exercises only from time to time now, when I feel I need to focus my embouchure or prepare for a very hard trumpet concerto. Often just by doing the “Six notes”, the body remembers the whole thing immediately and I can play up and down without any further warm ups. The body actually is magic, how it can reproduce results that have been properly programmed. In fact that is the basis for Carmine’s system, as well as of others of course, that the cells have memory.

I would like to thank Marvin, John, Randy and Markus for their contributions here! Please visit their websites to find out more:

Marvin Stamm: marvinstamm.com

John Thirkell: johnnythirkell.com

Randy Brecker: randybrecker.com

Markus Stockhausen: markusstockhausen.de

Click here to purchase a copy of Carmine Caruso’s ‘Musical Calisthenics for Brass’ at Thompson Music

Markus Stockhausen’s “The Basic Caruso”, from which his quotes are taken above, is available here

Photo Credits: Bev Nathan (John Thirkell), Judy Kirtley ( Marvin Stamm), Gerhard Richter (Markus Stockhausen)

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Advice · Education · Interview

Trumpet Artist Profile: Marvin Stamm

October 29, 2018July 15, 2022 Leslie Saidak1 Comment

Marvin Stamm is a colossus of the music world, having performed and recorded with many jazz legends throughout his illustrious career. At 79-years-young, he is still going strong and has many interesting thoughts here on adapting to change, both musically and physiologically over the years. There is sound and compelling advice here for musicians of all instruments and of all ages!

What first drew you to the trumpet?

Upon reaching the seventh grade in the school I attended in Memphis, Tennessee, every student was required to participate in a form of the arts—either become part of the band or sing in the chorus and take art. I had no talent for art nor any interest in singing in a chorus, so I chose instrumental music, which at my school was the standard concert band instrumentation. Part of my decision also rested upon the fact that I was rather shy at that age, and thought I could hide within a larger organization and not be noticed. The reason I chose the trumpet was because my older brother, an avid record collector, had a recording by Clyde McCoy entitled “The Sugar Blues” with which he employed the Harmon mute with the stem to produce wa-wa effects, growling, and flutter-tongue. This was quite impressive to me, and this is why I chose the trumpet.

Were there any particular early influences or musicians that you admired?

There were many early influences upon me, and they would have great consequence on the path I chose. Among the important people who first influenced me were my two wonderful band directors during my school years in Memphis; they gave me great training in the basics of music, playing in their concert bands. Another was my afore-mentioned brother, Gordon. My interest in jazz came about very early in my musical experience because hegave me access to his complete jazz collection, allowing me to play along with his records pretty much from the genesis of my musical endeavors. This gave me early exposure to this music and hadgreat impact on me. I was so enthralled with playing music that I decided after only two years—at age fourteen—this would be my path in life.

Another person exerting great influence during my high school years in Memphis was my trumpet teacher, Perry Wilson. Perry helped me build my musical foundation. He took me through Arban’s, St. Jacome, Schossberg, and Klose, also spending a great deal of time playing duets with me in order to teach me how to work, phrase and blend with other players. At the end of each lesson, he took me into one of the piano rooms and played tunes with me to help me broaden my improvisational skills, learn new material—and, so very important—develop my ear. He also was instrumental in my working in Memphis dance bands from age sixteen. I was very fortunate to have fine and dedicated teachers from the very beginning who prepared me well for my chosen career.

Through every phase of my musical and personal life there have been people willing to offer encouragement and help. There were several very fine musicians form my growing up in Memphis, many of the professional players the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and at the university during my years at North Texas State (now the University of North Texas). The years with Stan Kenton and Woody Herman were of immense value to my growing and developing as a player as well as the two years doing show work in Reno, Nevada. And then throughout all my years working in New York and beyond.

It would be impossible to list all the musicians with whom I have worked and who personally influenced me, but among the trumpet players whom most of our colleagues would recognize would be Mannie Klein, Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Thad Jones, Ray Crisara, Burt Collins, and Kenny Wheeler. And this lists just a few of the many who were of enormous significance to my music and my life. Someone once said to me that I had achieved a marvelous career and I had done all on my own efforts. I laughed and told him he could not be more mistaken. I had help every step of the way and experience this still to this day—from friends and musical colleagues alike.

As a young player, what was it like joining Stan Kenton?

I joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra as his jazz trumpet soloist immediately upon graduation from the University of North Texas in 1961. However, my relationship with Stan pre-dated that occasion because the North Texas band was kind of a house band at the 1960 Indiana University Kenton Clinics, serving as his band for that week. He conducted us in nightly concerts and became quite familiar with my playing, In November of that year Stan asked me to complete the last three and a half weeks of the 1960 tour because Sam Noto had been offered a steady gig at the Latin Quarter in New York City and needed to leave the band. This was really my baptism of fire with the band.

I joined fully after graduating from North Texas and toured with him for two years, recording five albums with the band. The orchestra, during my tenure, toured only in the U.S. and Canada, mostly playing one-nighters. I gained a good bit of national recognition and exposure touring with the band and especially through my being featured extensively on the recordings.

Working for Stan Kenton was great—he was very much a father figure, quite a special person, and very dedicated and inspiring to one such as myself. He was also very patient with me during my time with the band. I underwent a bit of an embouchure change because I was playing low onto the top lip, that is, onto the red tissue of the lip. Because the band played so hard, and most times quite loud, this caused me to cut my lip. With the help of John Haynie, my trumpet teacher from the University of North Texas, I moved the mouthpiece up on the top lip a good bit, providing more vibrating surface for playing and more muscle tissue, more “meat”, for the mouthpiece to rest upon. This was quite a drastic move for me and took a long time for me to adjust to, causing me a great deal of stress. During this whole period of adjustment, Stan was very patient and encouraging to me, showing how much concern and care he had for the people who played in his band.

My time on the Kenton band provided great experience in that it gave me a clear view of “life on the road.” I received a lot of solo exposure and met many people who contributed much to my growth and life experience. Some became friends for life. This playing experience was especially invaluable because you had to be at the top of your form every night in spite of being weary or sometimes ill; or many times playing where acoustics were less than perfect with tired or hurt “chops” and always being on the move. This instilled the concept that when it was time to perform, it didn’t matter how you felt—you were expected to be at your best at all times, under all sorts of conditions. And the one who expected the most from you was you yourself!

During your period as a busy studio player, what were the main things that you concentrated on in practice sessions to keep yourself in good shape and ready for anything?

Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals! I wanted to keep my embouchure strong, but flexible and my technique accurate. We almost never knew what we would be playing from session to session until our arrival at the date. And some days we would be playing three or four different sessions, all of a different musical style. I might be playing lead trumpet on one session, flugelhorn on another, and piccolo trumpet on a third. Our musicality depended upon our exposure to many styles of music and the interpretation thereof. But the ability to go into number of different musical environments, having the flexibility and stamina to perform to the highest standards day in and day out was the foundation of such a career. I found that keepingmy“instrumental”side in it’s best working order was the best way to be prepared for this kind of functionality. That meant stressing fundamentals.

What prompted your move away from the studio work to concentrate on your own jazz projects?

In the late ‘80s I realized I was feeling musically unfulfilled by the work I was doing. For the first 17 years or so of my studio period, while doing a lot of commercials and such, I still was also involved with a lot of musical recording projects, many of which were in the jazz genre. In the early ‘80s, the shift in work was more to commercials, and the recordings were mostly R&R recordings. There was little creative input being asked of the players, and I was feeling like just a journeyman musician, like “cog in the wheel” of most projects.

In addition, the technology aspect of the music was growing and many of the keyboardists and synthesizer players involved in projects were also being asked to write the arrangements for these projects—few with any knowledge of or skills in orchestration. We became the sources for informing them of what possibilities there were for various instruments, sometimes teaching them the most rudimentary things such as what was the lowest note on a trombone and the highest note playable by a typical saxophonist. It was very frustrating to most of us who had worked for years to become educated, masterful musicians.

In 1987, Lew Soloff introduced me to Swiss composer and and band leader George Gruntz, who was looking for someone to replace Lew for an upcoming tour, as Lew was already booked at that period of time. George invited me to join his group of U.S. and European musicians and I accepted, beginning what was to be a twenty-three year association with his Concert Jazz Band.

The musicians for this tour included Americans Lee Konitz, Claudio Roditi, Larry Schneider, Mike Richmond. Adam Nussbaum, Ray Anderson, Art Barron, David Taylor, Joe Henderson and others. Among the Europeans were trumpeters Palle Mikkelbourg, Manfred Schoof, and alto saxophonist Luten Petrovsky. There were straight-ahead players, BeBop players, and avant-garde players, all coming from across the musical spectrum. Moming from a more traditional big band background, I was initially taken aback by it all, but by the end of the tour, I was inspired. I felt that it might just be possible to move away from being a studio musician to become a jazz musician.

The thought was, at first, frightening. I remember one night discussing what I intended with drummer Ed Soph, wondering aloud how I was going to make this happen. Ed told me not to worry, it would definitely happen. Of course, I also talked all this over with my wife, who felt I should go for it. From this, my decision was made. For the next three years, i put myself out there, and if there was a choice between a recording session or a jazz gig or a tour, I took the jazz gig and turned down the session. Eventually, it became obvious to those in the business and they started calling others for studio dates. As well, my work as a jazz player was growing, so over time, one replaced the other. This began the most creative period of my musical life, and I never looked back.

As the years have gone by, would you say that your approach towards practice, preparation and performance has changed? If so, is it something that has had to change?

I certainly feel my approach has changed over time. It is true physically as well as musically. People tend to change physically as they age, even from their 30’s into their 40’s. and again from their 40’s into their 50’s and so on. This is just a physiological fact. Understanding when one’s practice and approach to the instrument needs to be altered—even if only slightly—from time to time to meet these circumstances is a great challenge. No one wants to change from what has worked successfully for a long time. But sometimes change is necessary, particularly when the problem may be physiological. I have seen many examples of players who don’t understand when their physiology changes and are so stymied by this that they don’t recover. They keep trying to approach everything the same way they have done for years, and yet, it doesn’t work anymore. Having a teacher or outside coach can help when one feels frustrated. A coach or teacher one trusts may see things looking from outside our faces than we don’t perceive on the inside. I sought help several times from the late Laurie Frink, a most wonderful teacher and player, who helped me to understand and work through my own problems.

Musical circumstances can also require a player take a different approach to practice. It all depends upon the kind of music and performance one is being asked to play, especially if one is working as a free-lance player. One example would be someone playing a show night after night that requires a hard blow, but then being asked to play a week in a small chamber orchestra where the music is softer and requires a different sound. The practice necessary to prepare for this kind of change would be quite different than the preparation for a difficult show. Practicing fundamentals to keep one’s embouchure flexible to play in any circumstance is necessary and certainly helps one to overcome many of the changes one must go through.

Every player experiencing physical or musical changes in their playing must be mindful of finding his own solutions to whatever challenges might arise. This will involve being flexible in his thinking and approach to these challenges going through the various stages of their careers. There has never been one answer for everyone; each of us must find our own. This is a challenge we all face.

What equipment do you use?

My trumpet is a Bach Model 72 Lightweight that the great lead player Bernie Glow picked out for me in 1969. My mouthpiece is a Najoom 7M (for medium). I play two flugelhorns, an old Cousnon I bought used in 1964, probably made in the 1950’s, and a French Besson, made under the auspices of Boosey and Hawkes by Zig Kanstul, at the urging of me and Guido Basso,the great Canadian trumpeter. I use either a GR custom mouthpiece (close to a 62M) or a very old Bach 10 1/2 C flugelhorn mouthpiece.

What do you think the priorities are for young aspiring players to keep in mind to give themselves the best shot at a long and successful career as a trumpeter?

There are a number of priorities to developing a long and successful career, each being a key basis of the other. Mastery of one’s instrument is certainly the foundation of any successful career, and practice of the fundamentals is the basis of that foundation. Part of this is also understanding the importance of developing a good sound because one’s sound is his voice, who he is musically. And while mastering etudes, solos, and excerpts are important, listening to and performing in many areas of music is the key to becoming a versatile player—and versatility is central to being a busy, working musician. There are those who are able to develop a career as a specialist in a given field, but they are rare birds in the equation. Being able to answer any work call and performing whatever that call requires is the key to having a successful career as a working musician. And that means having a working knowledge of many kinds of music.

What are your proudest career moments?

Over many years of playing music, I believe the thing I am most proud of is all the years of playing in the company of so many great musicians and being accepted as one of them. I had the great privilege of playing with my heroes, and to this day, I still feel that I am trying to play up to the level of musicianship that they set. But I don’t feel this as an element ofpride; I actually feel great humility at this acceptance and being a part of so many wonderful musical moments. I had the privilege of living my dream, fulfilling my musical fantasies.

What are your most enjoyable career moments?

There have been so many that it is difficult to pick one or two special experiences because there have been so many. Sitting a the trumpet section with people like Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Ray Crisara, Randy Brecker, and so many others was always special. Reaching to achieve the highest level of performance in the company of many great musicians was constantly thrilling. Words can’t really express the feelings this generated, day after day, performance after performance. I guess the most important thing to take away from what I am trying to express is that music is never about “me,” but about “we.” Community, everyone striving to bring the best to each musical moment, is the most fulfilling element of great musicians playing together. And I was most fortunate to be some part of so many of those experiences.

What projects have you got coming up?

I am going to be doing a project in the UK next summer with Matt Gough and Andy Bush, both excellent trumpeters and composers. Andy and I met in the mid-1980’sand have been dear friends ever since. Matt is a new friend and the composer of a magnificent multi-medium suite, “The Forgotten Fairground.” I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about this project soon.

I’ve also been privileged to be a part of several projects by pianist and composer Michael Holober. We’ve become very close friends dating back to when he conducted the Westchester Jazz Orchestra of which I was a member. I have been a part of four of his projects in the past four or five years, and he has mentioned two or three future projects that he is working on. Michael is also a musical partner in my quartet along with drummer Dennis Mackrel and bassist Mike McGuirk.

And I continue to perform as a guest soloist in various settings. I appeared at the Guildhall this past July, performing two of the Miles Davis/Gil Evans suites, “Miles Ahead” and “Sketches of Spain,” with Scott Stroman conducting. Working under Scott’s baton is always exhilarating! I shared the solo chores with UK trumpeter Robbie Robson, and if any of your readers are unfamiliar with Robbie’s music, please do become familiar with it. Robbie is extraordinarily creative and gifted musician. I enjoyed so much sharing this program with him.

In closing, let me say that in light of all I have been so fortunate to do in music, I am happy any time I can be in the company of extraordinary and like-minded musicians, people I can enjoy playing with, listening to, and learning from. To me, that’s what it’s all about!

Please click here to read about Marvin’s time studying with Carmine Caruso

You can see and hear lots of great clips of Marvin playing on his website

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