TromboneChat

I have read and heard that one of the best ways to train the ear is to listen to great trombone players recordings. Now, please do not get me wrong, I love to play Jazz, especially standards, but in my area (SoCal) it is difficult to find a spot in a jazz ensemble, even community ones, and the opportunities to play my favorite kind of jazz, old New Orleans brass band style is almost nonexistent here. The articles and blogs I have read suggest the interest in jazz is waning in this country, so the playing opportunities seem very limited. Besides I am still very early in the learning process of improvisation. Even though I have played every brass instrument at one time or another, I was pretty good at doubling in my younger days, I mainly played tuba. I mostly have played in marching bands and community concert bands, Army Band, and the Salvation Army bands. I have done a little orchestra work, but very little as I was an alternate, all Tuba as well. My question is, what type of music or trombonists should I listen to for the playing I am mostly involved with, which is community concert bands?

Listen to any music. Joe Alessi, Christian Lindberg, Bill Watrous, Kai Winding, JJ Johnson, ...

If you like Dixieland, there is lots of good music on www.redhotjazz.com. Especially look up Miff Mole, Jack Teagarden, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and Louis Armstrong Hot Five. And it's all free.

Urbie Green

My apologies, I have most of the jazz music covered, especially the ones suggested. I have Sousa, King, etc., as well. My direct question was concerning concert band style music specifically. I was hesitant to take lessons due to the fact that I have never had much luck because I never practiced like I should have in the past. I am taking my first lesson this evening and I realize I need to apply myself to practicing regularly and listening to the instructors advice. Thank you.

Do you have the Mercury Living Presence Eastman Wind Ensemble recordings?
They have much more than marches there.
Some of the pieces are out of community band league, but many are not.
Even the marches taste differently from what we normally hear.
For my tastes the trombones are almost always clear and in balance.
Very good role models.

Concert band music is a lot of borrowed ideas from everywhere. For any music you listen to there will either be actual arrangements for concert band or compositions using similar techniques or forms.

Listen widely to music that is acclaimed as great for its particular genre or performance medium and you will be doing yourself some good.

Having said that, when I wanted to develop my ear for “good” when I was young I asked a similar question of each of my early teachers. They guided me to the Chicago Symphony playing Mahler, the big themes of John Williams (Raiders, Superman, Star Wars) Tchaikovsky Fourth and Fifth symphonies, Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble, Canadian Brass, Earth Wind and Fire, Blood Sweat and Tears, Bill Watrous big band recordings with his Manhattan Wildlife Refuge project, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra…. And a bunch more individual jazz artists, some mentioned above. This list reflects that it was compiled in the 1980’s, but the idea is of finding great players playing great music.

For your day to day work in your community groups, it should be pretty easy to find recorded versions of almost any of the repertoire the groups you play in are rehearsing. That specific listening is important to get the big picture of pieces that is difficult to discern from behind a music stand listening to the clarinets being drilled on their noodly bits of music.

I just found out about the records of the Hannover trombone unit, so I ordered their cd's. Definitely worth listening. Amazing talent and good arrangements/compositions/transcriptions.
In "The Picures from an Exhibition" I think I heard a high Ab (Ab5) Yes, amazing talent from all in that ensamble. Here is a sound excerpt.

It's almost too perfect for my taste, and I'm a vibrato guy They use vibrato very sparse but besides that I was totally blown away. I bought two cd's and I do not regret. Lars Karlin is the arranger of everything on the second cd and I like that one the most, and it is not just because he is Swedish.

/Tom

The album Fandango, with Joe Alesso and Phillip Smith, is actually with the U of New Mexico Wind Symphony. Seems like it might be the kind of thing being asked for here.

I believe records of the U.S. military bands are free. Doesn't get much better than that!