Shout outs to other trombonists

[iranzi]

By way of honoring musicians that made some impact on you as a trombone player: teachers, colleagues, relatives, etc...

[Cmillar]

Philip Brink
(former bass trombonist for Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Calgary (after Loren Marstellar went back to LA, he also was principal in Calgary), teacher, professor, and also a composer). He was also the bass trombonist for many years in the Seattle Symphony's 'Ring Cycle' while teaching at Univ. of Washington. I'd go down from Canada to hear him play and to also get some further lessons, especially when I was preparing for my own Junior and Senior recitals.

He was my first real undergraduate teacher who got me 'on track'. Phil came from Northwestern University after playing in Alaska and some other orchestras, before going on to some great other gigs.

Phil introduced me to 'new music' as well, and he performed solo recitals that knocked us all out, including playing 'General MacArthurs' Farewell Speech' and Berio's 'Sequenza V'.

He had us all playing in quartets with him, and even got me my first gig playing a big Monteverdi piece. And I could barely read Tenor Clef at the time! It was being thrown into the fire and getting down to business.

Phil Brink....wonderful musician, teacher, composer and lifelong influence for being a musician....not just a trombone player.

[iranzi]

deleted

[tbdana]

Way too many to list. But here are some that come to mind, and some things I learned just watching them:

Roy Main (trombonist). Out of everyone I took lessons from, he's the man I consider my trombone teacher.

Urbie Green (trombonist). My trombone inspiration from the very start, and the only person on this list who I didn't know personally.

Claude Lakey (saxophonist). A swing era saxophonist who had a music store and a youth band that was my first non-school band I ever played in. He's the reason I became a musician.

Karen Carpenter (singer/drummer). Friend and musician growing up. She beat us at the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands with what was then called the Richard Carpenter Trio (before they became The Carpenters), after which I learned to take music more seriously.

Bill Watrous (trombonist). Friend, colleague, stoner pal, and my model for how the trombone can and should be played. His playing is the yardstick against which I measure my own and everyone else's playing. Many memorable times with Billy. Many great stories that I can't tell here. LOL

Alan Kaplan (trombonist). The guy who woke me up to the skills needed to be a successful commercial trombonist. The man was a machine. I learned you have to be an excellent sight reader, to play everything perfectly the first time through and the same every time thereafter, to be someone the boss didn't have to worry about, to shut my mouth, and to make other people's jobs easier.

Rick Baptist (trumpet player). Taught me that some musicians have the talent to be everyone's instant best friend; to always be positive no matter the setting or difficulties; and that some musicians put on friendship and niceness like a shirt. I learned that you can't always tell if it's sincere or an act, and some of the guys get so good at it that even they don't know.

Al Hirt (trumpet player). Taught me that great chops can take you a long way, and taught me how to bring it night in and night out, never phoning it in no matter how dull or repetitive the gigs get.

Dick Grove (composer/arranger). Taught me commercial composition and arrangement, and the skills, techniques, and chops you need to be successful. (I never used what I learned, though.)

Jeff Reynolds (bass trombonist). Friend, inspiration, a guy who has so much experience, so many good stories, and so much music wisdom, I could sit and listen to him talk for hours and never get bored. And, IMHO, he was a member of the best trombone section ever.

James Pankow (trombonist). Before I ever met him he taught me that trombone could be an instrument in hard rock. Was my favorite trombonist growing up. Later, he hired me to play with his band, which was a dream come true since Chicago was my favorite band growing up. Also, the very last gig I ever played before quitting for 30 years was with him. That last gig also had a great trombone section: Me, Pankow, Watrous, Bob McChesney, and Rich Bullock.

Theresa (my spouse, non-musician). I hadn't played in 30 years. I had just retired from another career, and we moved out of L.A. and to acreage way out in the country. I was lonely, isolated, and bored. I didn't have anything to do, I had no purpose, no friends, no social network. Then, our first winter we got snowed-in for 3 weeks without electricity, water, heat, phones, or internet. I whined to her, "I didn't sign up for this. I don't like this, and I want to go home. Let's sell the house and move back to L.A." She said no, and instead she bought me a trombone and said, "Here, play this." And it changed my life.

In truth, I could list hundreds of people. I learn great things from everyone. There's a community band player whose biggest moments were playing in his high school band, and from him I learned how to do really fast lip trills. He had a skill I didn't, and had something to teach me. Everyone has something to teach me, and I try to soak up whatever people have to offer.

[chouston3]

I keep seeing Roy Main come up. Did he write any books or make any videos?

From what I have seen he emphasized pattern work and both slurring and tonguing lip slurs. I am sure there is much more than that.

I am interested in his teaching.

[JohnL]

I keep seeing Roy Main come up. Did he write any books or make any videos?

He wrote at least one book (The Main Method for Trombone), but it's out of print. I have the impression that it wasn't so much what he taught from a musical standpoint but how he went about teaching it, which doesn't come across in a book or video.

[tbdana]

I keep seeing Roy Main come up. Did he write any books or make any videos?

From what I have seen he emphasized pattern work and both slurring and tonguing lip slurs. I am sure there is much more than that.

I am interested in his teaching.

Roy was the auto mechanic of trombone teachers. He saw his job as identifying your problem areas and fixing them. No two students were taught the same things.

[iranzi]

deleted

[mbarbier]

I keep seeing Roy Main come up. Did he write any books or make any videos?

From what I have seen he emphasized pattern work and both slurring and tonguing lip slurs. I am sure there is much more than that.

I am interested in his teaching.

Roy was the auto mechanic of trombone teachers. He saw his job as identifying your problem areas and fixing them. No two students were taught the same things.

There's an Alex Iles interview where he talks about studying with him that approach. I *think* it's on the Downstream. It's a really great one- he seemed like an amazing teacher and person.

[tbdana]

Roy was the auto mechanic of trombone teachers. He saw his job as identifying your problem areas and fixing them. No two students were taught the same things.

There's an Alex Iles interview where he talks about studying with him that approach. I *think* it's on the Downstream. It's a really great one- he seemed like an amazing teacher and person.

I think most folks here would have hated him. His teaching style was old school. He didn't coddle students.

There are two lessons I will always remember, and they were a week apart. In the first one, I hadn't practiced and did not disclose that I hadn't practiced. So Roy had me play this etude for him, and I guess I didn't do very well because he stopped me every few notes and made me start again. He was aggressively critical. It was brutal. I left that lesson in tears. But it sure made me go home and practice!

I practiced really hard that whole week, and when the second lesson came I played that etude perfectly. Did Roy tell me I did a good job? Did I get praise for the amazing progress I had made? No. LOL! He just crossed that one off and said, "Okay, for next week do this one."

So I asked him, "Hey, last week you really laid into me hard. And I worked my butt off all week on this! I played it perfectly. I got so much criticism last week it made me cry. Don't I get any acknowledgement for doing so well this week?"

I'll never forget what Roy said. He said, "If you want compliments, go play for your mother."

That was brutal. But he followed it up with, "It's not my job to make you feel good. It's my job to make you a good trombone player. Last week you needed a kick in the butt, and you met the moment. So now we're back on track, and we move on."

Roy Main was an amazing teacher, but he wasn't the coddler people seem to need today. You have to remember that Roy's students were all adults, and many were young professionals. They brought their own motivation. They were serious students. They didn't need a teacher to make it all happy-happy, joy-joy. And as tough as Roy could be, it's notable that every, single student of his loves him.

I remember Andy Martin telling a story about one of his lessons with Roy where he played some excerpt or something, and then Roy played it and asked Andy, "Do you hear the difference between how you played it and how I played it?" And Andy answered, "Yes, I played it in tune and you didn't." Andy said his lesson didn't go very well after that.

[Finetales]

Alan Raph - I never met him, but I learned to play pedal notes from a video he made in the early days of YouTube.

Michael Wheeler - my bass trombone teacher in high school. He was the sweetest man in the world, and lessons with him were always fun and inspiring. Sometimes we would end up talking about trombone, music, and life for hours (perks of being his last lesson of the day!) and never play a note, and he would refuse to accept payment when we finally called it for the night. He never brought his horn to his lessons, so I sadly never got to hear him play. I think he wanted his students to find their own sound, rather than emulating him. He gave his students so much - sheet music, mouthpieces, and even his Greenhoe Conn to a student who couldn't find a bass trombone his parents could afford by the time he left for music school. Sadly he left us far too soon due to cancer. I miss him!

Melinda Mackenzie-Hall - my high school band director. She really believed in me, challenged me, and provided me with an experience that allowed me to flourish. She played a huge part in convincing me to major in music and try to make my passion a career.

Sylvia Alimena - former 2nd hornist of the National Symphony, Sylvia also led (and still leads) an ensemble for high school brass players in the DC area called Brass of Peace. I grew so much as a musician in that ensemble, and I still use things she taught me in that group every day as a professional.

M. Dee Stewart and Carl Lenthe - my two trombone teachers during my undergrad at IU. I wouldn't be half the musician and trombonist that I am today without them!

Wayne Wallace - my primary professor for my jazz composition master's degree (I wanted to write like him!), but he also taught me a whole lot on trombone as I also wanted to SOUND like him. He became a very important mentor and friend, far exceeding his duties as my professor - and I know many of his students had a similar experience. One of the most genuine, down to Earth human beings on the planet.

[Doug Elliott]

I had no idea you grew up in Northern VA. Woodbridge? I think that's where Melinda taught.

[Finetales]

I had no idea you grew up in Northern VA. Woodbridge? I think that's where Melinda taught.

In Fairfax, at W.T. Woodson HS. I think she was at Woodbridge before there.

[BrianJohnston]

Jay Friedman. My mentor during my time in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. I wouldn’t have won the jobs I did or subbed with the orchestras I had without his guidance. What he has taught me about sound, articulation, legato, equipment etc is priceless.