Guess The Trumpet Player Winner

Thanks to all who listened to Thursday’s track and to those who ventured a guess. It had been a while since I posted a contest. We got some guesses but only one person correctly identified the mystery trumpet player. The winner of the twenty-fourth edition of the Outside Pants Guess The Trumpet Player contest is……. talented Philly trumpet player, Adam Hershberger. Nice work, Adam!

And the correct answer is….Terell Stafford. Well, I wasn’t surprised that Adam readily identified Terell – Adam was Terell’s student at Temple University where Terell is Professor of Jazz, Director of Jazz Studies, Chair: Instrumental Studies. The featured song was “If I Perish” off of Terell’s 2000 Nagel Heyer release, “Fields of Gold.” The whole album is truly great from start to finish – not something I can say about many recordings. Terell plays with a swagger and confidence that is almost frightening. He can be incredibly powerful, almost bullying his way through the progressions, but he can also play light and delicate with a real romantic feel. He always swings and his lines are very well-crafted. Harmonically there’s nothing super crazy going on. The music isn’t especially adventurous, but thoroughly within the tradition. But there’s absolutely no BS-ing going on. Terell and his band came to play and they play their tails off. It’s straight ahead jazz at its best. Very enjoyable.

I haven’t yet purchased Terell’s latest MaxJazz release, “This Side of Strayhorn” but I have the feeling that I will perhaps like this new one as much as I enjoyed “Fields of Gold.” I am a fan of Billy Strayhorn’s tunes. And the band Terell has assembled is awesome. How do I know this? Because I heard them Live at The Village Vanguard via NPR and WBGO. Do yourself a favor and listen to this live recording (there’s an interview in there too which you might enjoy). When Terell left the stage that night he had burned a hole through all of the furniture in the place. And, no doubt, burned a hole through people’s minds. An extremely talented trumpet player.