The personnel of the Army Blues trumpet and Rhythm Section is as follows:
Trumpets:
Rhythm:
The rehearsal techniques that he described in the class were those that the Army Blues trumpet section abides by. The members of the trumpet section have discovered that what works best for them is to play through the pieces and then fine-tune things as needed. Rehearsing the trumpet section as a separate entity from the larger ensemble, and focusing on the weaknesses of the section, really helps in clearing up any confusion on style, interpretation, phrasing and articulations.
Each member of the section gave some insight into the many facets of their responsibilities in the section and how that affects the ensemble. Craig Fraedrich spoke of doing some research on Cootie Williams' solo on the Duke Ellington tune Concerto for Cootie. He explained how the harmon-mute sound in the many recordings of this tune was achieved by using a Stonelined "Pixie" mute with a tight plunger, which sounds like a harmon mute with no plunger. Paul Dubois (lead trumpet player) talked about how he uses valve trombone in his personal practice to help in his daily routine of trumpet playing. Mr. Fraedrich also spoke of making efficient use of rehearsal time, running spots in the music so that the parts line up well and the ensemble sounds very tight. Other important rehearsal techniques that they stressed included playing through sections of music slowly, listening critically, and practicing parts down the octave for intonation and balance.
As the session closed, Graham Breedlove mentioned that a Lead Trumpet spot in the Army Blues would open up in a year. The website to search for more information on the army band, including vacancies, concert schedules, personnel lists, e-mail addresses and more, is
