July ’09

Bryan Davis will still be based in Leeds, UK during this month. He is available to teach lessons and workshops, as well as for gigs of any kind. If you are based elsewhere in the UK, or indeed the world, but are interested in taking a lesson with Bryan, please be aware that Online Lessons via Webcam are also available.

Bryan’s emigration to the USA has been temporarily delayed while he finishes tidying up the loose ends of his life in the UK. He hopes to be moving to New York before too much longer – hopefully sometime during August.

Included in this month’s activities are a trip to Amsterdam, Holland. Bryan will be travelling as Lead Trumpet with Stephen Triffitt, to play his “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” at the Theater Carre. Bryan will be arriving in Amsterdam on Tuesday the 7th, playing the show on Wednesday the 8th and returning home on the 9th. Lesson times should be available on Tuesday lunchtime and Wednesday morning. Please visit the Lessons page and contact Bryan to set it up if you are interested.

On Saturday, 18th July, Bryan will be playing Lead Trumpet with the Wigan Jazz Club Big Band at the final concert of the Wigan Jazz Festival 2009. This concert is a Double Bill with Carole Kidd and her band in the 1st half and the Wigan Jazz Club band playing a Stan Kenton programme in the 2nd half. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling the Box Office on 01942 825677.

On June 27th, Bryan performed at the Glasgow Jazz Festival with the Ryan Quigley Big Band. He had the tremendous pleasure of sharing his section duties with Roger Ingram, Noel Langley and Ryan himself. The concert was recorded by BBC Scotland and highlights will be broadcast on the Jazz Line Up programme on BBC Radio 3 in a few weeks. We will post details of that broadcast when we have them. For much of the concert, the band were backing Justin Currie; lead singer and founder member of Del Amitri. A number of songs have appeared on YouTube. We hope you enjoy this version of “Nature Boy”:

June ’09

Bryan Davis is based in Leeds, UK during this period. He is available to teach lessons and workshops, as well as for gigs of any kind. If you are based elsewhere in the UK, or indeed the world, but are interested in taking a lesson with Bryan, please be aware that Online Lessons via Webcam are also available.

Returning visitors are most likely aware that Bryan has been planning for some time to move to the USA. We are pleased to announce that he recently received his Visa. He will be moving to New York soon; most likely in late July 2009. Following a short period upon arrival when his residence will be pending, Bryan Davis will be available for performance and teaching opportunities of all kinds in the USA.

Before leaving the UK, Bryan will be keeping busy with various activities, including a jazz recording project – more about that as the details are firmed up. He is slowly getting back into the freelance scene and, this month, will be playing dates with the Nick Ross Orchestra and will also be covering a couple of shows on the West Side Story UK National Tour. He will also be performing at the Glasgow Jazz Festival on the 27th of June with the Ryan Quigley Big Band. This promises to be a great concert with Bryan sharing his section duties with Roger Ingram, Noel Langley and the leader.

Looking ahead to July, Bryan will be travelling to Holland with Stephen Triffitt to play Lead Trumpet on his “Salute To Sinatra” showcase in Amsterdam. He will also be performing with the Wigan Jazz Club Big Band on July 18th on the last night of the Wigan Jazz Festival.

If you’re looking for further news about the Bryan Davis Podcast, we should have a new episode available soon. Bryan’s busy schedule and a brief bout of illness have prevented him from recording anything recently. He promises to rectify this soon!

Trumpet Party 2009

I had a great time visiting Noordwijk, Holland for the Trumpet Party 2009, this past weekend. I was there purely as a spectator as the featured artists included Eric Miyashiro, Roger Ingram and Lee Thornburg. I’d not previously had the opportunity to hear Eric or Lee live – this was not a chance I intended to miss.

The event itself was on Sunday but the day’s activities commenced with a workshop by Roger Ingram, at lunchtime, so I headed to Noordwijk on Saturday. Having found my way to my hotel, I discovered that Eric Miyashiro was also playing that night at the Meer Jazz Festival in Hoofddorp, a suburb of Amsterdam. I got back on the bus and headed back in that direction. Not only did I have the chance to see Eric play, backed by the excellent Holland Big Band, but I also ran into him before the show and had a chance to meet him. He’s a very nice guy and invited me to hang out in the dressing room with the band before and after the gig. He also arranged for me to catch a ride with him back to Noordwijk afterwards which saved me an expensive cab fare! The gig itself was fantastic – Eric guested on 5 or 6 tunes with the band and played his ass off. Included were Maynard Ferguson favourites “Theme from Star Trek”, “Fox Hunt” and “Maria”. He also played tunes from his own albums – his own ballad arrangement of “Gonna Fly Now” and an uptempo roarer called “Kick Up”. He demonstrated why he’s regarded as one of the few guys on the planet who successfully pay musical tribute to Maynard Ferguson!

On the Sunday in Noordwijk, the festivities began with Roger Ingram’s workshop/masterclass. Despite having studied privately with him during the past couple of years, I still found new stuff to learn in the workshop context; most pertinently how cacophonous it is when 45 people all buzz their mouthpieces at once!! Joking aside, it’s always a revelation to watch Roger teach – he has so much information to impart and can do remarkably clearly, even when there are 45 students rather than just one!

The Trumpet Party concert followed in the afternoon. It was attended by approximately 400 people and we were treated to some tremendous music. Apart from Roger, Eric and Lee Thornburg, notable contributions also came from John Wallace, Frits Damrow, Jan Wessels and many others. Rather than my trying to describe too much of it, I suggest you check it out for yourself on YouTube. Many highlights have been posted and can be most easily accessed via this playlist.

Following the concert came the After Party. Although primarily for performers and staff at the Trumpet Party, there were a limited number of tickets available for audience members too. I was fortunate that the event organiser, Marcel Schott, invited me to come along. Over dinner and drinks, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Lee Thornburg, whose playing I’ve admired so much for many years. Also, I had the chance to hang out with Eric Miyashiro some more and also John Duda, of Calicchio Trumpets, who I met at his workshop in Tulsa last November. Roger Ingram spent much of the evening teaching lessons but joined us briefly later on. I was pleased to have the chance to get Eric, Lee and Roger together for this photo.

TrumpetParty 2009 - The After Party

L-R: Eric Miyashiro, Roger Ingram, BD, Lee Thornburg

The rest of the evening proceeded as one might expect for a room full of Trumpet players; we drank too much and closed the bar! I had a great trip to Holland, met some great people and heard some great music! Roll on the next Trumpet Party….

Lurking in Noordwijk

I’m currently in the resort town of Noordwijk, in the Netherlands. Tomorrow is the TrumpetParty 2009 – the annual Dutch festival of Trumpets. I’m here purely as a spectator, although it’d be cool to perform at this event some other time. When I saw the line-up of guests, I couldn’t resist – among them are Eric Miyashiro, Roger Ingram and Lee Thornburg!

I’ll be back to report on the sights and sounds of the TrumpetParty as soon after the event as possible. I’ll be attending Roger Ingram’s Masterclass, as well as the concert itself and the After-Party. I’ll try and update my Twitter account with observations and pictures as we go along. My username is @bryandavistpt if you want to follow along.

For now, it’s dinner time. Back with more soon…