Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been trumpeting for about 30 years. I learned from a great teacher who played in top London orchestras (his playing featured on Star Wars and Bond film soundtracks). I also took dedicated jazz and keyboard lessons. Music was an integral part of my time at university, where I won a music scholarship and was principal trumpet of the symphony orchestra. I played regularly in a big band and the house band for a local jazz club, broadening my knowledge of traditional standards and improv. In my 20s I kept my orchestral lip in and began to play more latin jazz (in a Cuban big band, 12-piece salsa band and smaller ensemble settings), visiting Cuba several times to learn with musicians in Havana. I also started playing in some more experimental groups, from steampunk to carnival jazz. My playing has taken me to some well-known London venues, from Ronnie Scott's, the Bull's Head and the O2, to orchestral music at the Royal Albert Hall and St. John's Smith Square. Since moving to Brooklyn NY, I've continued to play small ensemble jazz but branched out to play more blues and New Orleans style music. I continue to play live in various groups (recent gigs included venues such as Rockwood Music Hall, DROM, Rubulad, 3 Dollar Bill, Bowery Electric). As a software developer and musician, the technology side of music has always been a major interest to me and I have some expertise in audio processing in software.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have built a small recording studio in an office building close to my apartment. It's a totally isolated room-within-a-room, a perfect silent and dry acoustic to record trumpet in. To record I primarily use a Harrelson Summit One trumpet or Eclipse Flugel with a Coles 4038 mic and a Universal Audio audio interface. Other horns include a Yamaha Bobby Shew trumpet, a Vincent Bach Stradivarius, a Yamaha Xeno Artist New York Trumpet and a Conn Quest Trombone. I have other mic options available including an AKG C414 Xlii.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: On trumpet, there are a ton of players I enjoy listening to (in various styles). Jazz-wise: Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Arturo Sandoval, Christian Scott, Kenny Wheeler, James Morrison. I've heard a lot of great players live in recent years, including Roy Hargrove, Tom Harrell, Wynton Marsalis, Trombone Shorty, Alex Sipiagin. Classical music-wise I’ve enjoyed listening to Alison Balsom and Tine Thing Helseth. Otherwise, I've been getting more into the traditional New Orleans style over the last few months. I'm currently playing in a couple of bands that are heavily inspired by this sound. I've been enjoying listening to a lot of Rebirth Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, Young Blood Brass Band, Preservation Hall Brass Band etc. More generally, I've really been getting into Jacob Collier's music over the past few years. His arrangements are spectacular and harmonically fascinating. I've particularly enjoyed watching some of the YouTube breakdowns of his Logic Pro sessions, which have upped my own Logic Pro game a little.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I use Logic Pro to record, importing any existing tracks and adding horn lines (background long tones, improvised solos etc). I start by adjusting levels and typically record multiple takes of every section so I have some options to choose from. I try to work quickly and like to get a basic draft with some ideas down as soon as possible to see if I'm along the right lines. Then, make changes and re-record in response to feedback over the space of a few days.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: A few: microphone placement is extremely important. With multiple horn tracks, panning the tracks left and right to different degrees can help a lot. When setting EQ up for trumpet it’s good to sweep for frequencies where there can be a problematic resonant whistle (most noticeable when you boost those frequencies) and slightly dampen those, while also giving a general boost to the mid-range to produce a warmer sound.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: It’s useful to have as much detail as possible early on if you’re after something specific. That could be anything from a reference track (like a YouTube link or mp3) to give an idea of the sound - to a hummed/sung track, some sheet music etc . Equally, I’m always happy to take some artistic license and compose or improvise something (and in this case I like to present some different options).

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I've worked on a great variety of genres: jazz, latin, pop, rock, classical. Whatever the genre, send your track over and I'll see what I can do.