Jon Faddis

[oneofanotherkind]

Over the years , my respect for Faddis has consistently grown , and at this point I actually consider him to be one of the all-time jazz greats , especially in the realm of lead trumpet , either section lead or Maynard-style out-in-front lead.

Faddis has a difficult-to-lose rep of predominantly being a fast high player. My feeling is that there's a right way to play this kind of jazz trumpet , and there is a wrong way -- and there's an awful lot of players who are doing it the wrong way.

One of the perhaps not-so-well-kept secrets of great lead/hi-note trumpet players is that for these guys the notes are easy ( well , most of the time ). This is in direct opposition to the image displayed on stage by many great lead players. Never underestimate the power of showmanship !

What I love about guys like Faddis and Maynard is that they are not "first level" players ( at least not for the most part). Their intention is never to play high as an end unto itself, but rather as one cornerstone of a personal style and/or a music style that has depth in other dimensions.

Those of you who are not brass players might not have heard this Faddis tidbit : at a very young age ( early 20s I believe ) , Jon actually went to a dentist and had small triangular pieces cut out of his upper incisors. The result was a triangular "cut out" with the motivation being to improve his range and control in the upper register by allowing him to "whistle" the air column through the aperture with his jaw in a more closed position than is typical. Velocity is proportional to pressure.

Edited April 25, 2009 by oneofanotherkind

[mr jazz]

Those of you who are not brass players might not have heard this Faddis tidbit : at a very young age ( early 20s I believe ) , Jon actually went to a dentist and hard small triangular pieces cut out of his upper incisors. The result was a triangular "cut out" with the motivation being to improve his range and control in the upper register by allowing him to "whistle" the air column through the aperture with his jaw in a more closed position than is typical. Velocity is proportional to pressure.

Whoa, that's taking one for the team. I agree that he doesn't get the respect he desrves-he can flat out play. I thoroughly enjoy "Teranga" every time it's in the player.