Edwards Blog

I have been fortunate to attend most all of the Trombones de Costa Rica Music Festivals and have learned and enjoyed every one of them. The country is beautiful, the people are wonderful and the love of music is infectious. Travel to San Jose Costa Rica can be very cost effective to this region if you book far enough in advance. The primary language spoken is Spanish so some basics can help you get around.

Once at the Hotel you are essentially in a camp like environment where the musicians are the only ones in attendance. It is an enjoyable time and since the Artist in Residence will be Paul Compton his instruction will be in English with translation to Spanish. I talked with Ivan today and the event looks to be well organized and should be great. If you are interested please contact Ivan either by phone or email (listed below). Ivan sent me an invitation letter which I translated via an internet translation service. So please excuse any grammatical errors.

Christan Griego

The Trombones de Costa Rica would like to offer an official invitation to participate in our VII International Festival Trombones of Costa Rica. The event will be carried out from October 10 to October 14, 2008 and is for trombone players, baritone and tubists of all the levels.
The Faculty this year will be Alejandro Gutiérrez, Martin Bonilla, Leonel Rodriguez and Iván Chinchilla, all members of the Trombones de Costa Rica and Paul Compton, professor of jazz and classic of the State University of Oklahoma in the United States. This year the activity will be carry out in the Quality Mount Bell, a Hotel of Mountain in the province of Heredia in Costa Rica. The cost is of $280 per person (two hundred eighty dollars) and includes; - Transportation San José? Heredia? San José. - Lodging in rooms of multiple occupation. - Three main meals a day. - All the activities
that offers the Festival.* (except chamber music) + - Undershirt and certificate

* The Festival offers classes with teachers, collective master classes, recitals of the Faculty and a final recital with all of the participants. This year, due to the requests of the participants of several editions, we will offer again individual classes for the participants with the members of Trombones of Costa Rica.

For groups of chamber music established we offer special classes by an additional payment of $30 (thirty dollars) by member. They should bring repertoire prepared to work with the professor.
Reserve your space by sending an advancement of $100 per person (one hundred non refundable dollars) before the 1 of September, in check, to name of TROMBONES DE COSTA RICA INC. and to this direction;

TROMBONES OF COSTA RICA Apdo.
Postcard 2212 - 2100
Guadalupe, San José COSTA RICA

MM Iván Chinchilla Meza

Director
Festival Internacional Trombones de Costa Rica
ivan@trombonesdecostarica.com
Tel: (506) 8385-4870

Filed by Christan Griego at 1:22 pm under Shows, Artists, General | Permalink

Posaune Decouple is an ensemble of predominantly trombonists from the Curtis Institutes Alumni and teaching ranks. This ensemble will perform a concert in honor of Glen Dodson (1931-2007) on May 11, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.

This concert will be inside the Glencairn Museum located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.

The program will feature a premiere by composer Eric Ewazen led by Edwards’ artist Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic).

The concert will also include the following artists:
Mark H. Lawrence (Edwards Artist, formerly of San Francisco Symphony)
Carl Lenthe (Edwards Artist, formely of Bamberg Symphony- Germany)
Nitzan Haroz (Edwards Artist, Philadelphia Orchestra)
Matthew Vaughn (Philadelphia Orchestra)
Eric Carlson (Edwards Artist, Philadelphia Orchestra)
Christopher Dudley (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra)
Richard Stout (The Cleveland Orchestra)
Jim Nova (Utah Symphony Orchestra)
M. Dee Stewart (Indiana University)
Blair Bollinger (Edwards Artist, Philadelphia Orchestra)
Darrin C. Milling (Edwards Artist, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra- Brazil).

Filed by Christan Griego at 9:44 am under Artists, General | Permalink

While not as immediately exotic as Siberia or Thailand, Lake Jackson Texas really could be considered another country as Mr. Wilkins could verify. This coming weekend, I’ll be playing some duos here with the great Argentinian drummer Hernan Hecht.

Brian Allen || Hernan Hecht Duo April 2008 Tourette

• Sunday, April 20 - The Clarion at Brazosport College, Lake Jackson 4pm. Admission is free
• Monday, April 21 - Klein Oak HS in Houston, 3pm
• Tuesday, April 22 - Hecht Drum Clinic at Brazoswood HS, Lake Jackson 8:30am
• Tuesday, April 22 - Allen + Hecht Masterclass at Lake Jackson Intermediate School, 4pm $5 suggested donation

Brian Allen - trombone, Atari 2600, melodica, Kaoss Pad and other toys and electronics
Hernan Hecht - drums, electronics, percussion, toys (www.hernanhecht.com)

The Clarion is a beautiful performance hall with amazing acoustics. It is 50 miles south of Houston and one of the nicest places I’ve ever played. I have had the honor of teaching at Brazosport College since 2002.

Mexico City-based Hernan Hecht and I met in Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula, January 2007 when I got a grant from the organization Meet the Composer to rehearse and perform my music with a new band composed of Mexico-based musicians. Last September, Hernan and I did a very intense duo southwestern U.S. tour, with over 11 concerts in 10 days, playing all over Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. We will have a duo CD coming out shortly.

Check out some of our videos at YouTube.

Now Hernan has joined Brainkiller, my duo with Phoenix pianist Jacob Koller, and we’re really excited about our recently recorded CD after a rocking fall Mexico tour. In March, the trio played several concerts in Phoenix, including a show at the eternally cool and supportive Modified Arts Space, opening for Carla Bozulich. I also did an Edwards-sponsored clinic at Peoria HS in Phoenix.

Watch www.myspace.com/brainkillermusic for upcoming news/events. And check out some more YouTube videos.

Reviews for “Synapse” my trio CD with Tony Malaby and Tom Rainey, are still coming in with the latest being in the Greek Jazz Magazine “Jazz and Tazz.” If you can translate, please have a look here or here (and scroll down).

You can still buy this CD at many fine vendors, including iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, Downtown Music Gallery and through my website.

Jazz Trombone Ensemble fans might be interested in this clip from the 2005 Texas Tech University Jazz Bone Band, the year we won the ETW Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition and performed at ETW with the generous support of Edwards Instruments! This performance was at TMEA from that year, playing my tune “Knockoff.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSNdghF5ORo

As always, please see my YouTube channel www.youtube.com/gatotemus for all the above videos and much more.

Thanks for your support!
Brian
www.braintone.com

Filed by Brian Allen at 10:46 pm under Artists, Trombone | Permalink

We hate doing it, but due to the rising price of gold, we’ve had to make a few adjustments to our price list. These prices are subject to change.

Filed by Administrator at 9:41 am under Product News | Permalink

On March 6th, my compatriots (Joel Dilley-Bassist and Darren Kuper-Drummer)
and I flew from San Antonio, TX to Moscow, Russia to perform with Internationally
renowned classical and jazz pianist and recording artist, Valeri Grohovski.
I met Valeri in 1991 when he was a visiting professor at the University of
Texas at San Antonio, and was immediately impressed by his virtuosity. He’s
one of the greatest pianists in the world and it was a great honor to be invited
to perform with him. After a couple of transfers in Cincinnati and New York,
we were on our way to Moscow. Some eight hours later, we arrived in Moscow,
went through customs and happily met Valeri and his two friends, Sergei and
Misha, who helped us with our gear and drove us to Valeri’s exquisite apartment
overlooking the Moscow river. We settled in, went over the tour schedule, had
a marvelous lunch, and hit the road for our first of twelve concerts in sixteen
days.

Our first concert was in the resort city of Magnitogorsk, some 3 1/2 hours
(by plane) northwest of Moscow. We checked in late that night to the hotel
affiliated with the concert hall and got some much needed rest. The next day
we were served breakfast at the concert promoter’s office and viewed the hall.
It was a large, 1500 seat auditorium (in need of and currently under restoration)
with decent acoustics. Later that day, we had our sound check, went over the
set list, and got ready for the performance. That evening the hall was packed and we blew them away. The songs we performed that evening,
and the rest of the tour were:

First Set

1. I Got Rhythm-Gershwin
2. On Green Dolphin Street-Kaper
3. Misty-Garner
4. A Kiss to Build a Dream On-Armstrong
5. It Don’t Mean a Thing, if it Ain’t Got That
   Swing-Ellington (this was particularly fun because the
   audience sang the "doo-wah’s"-the Loved it!!)

Second Set

1. I Loves You Porgy-Gershwin (solo piano
   improvisation by Valeri-it was magical!!)
2. Nostalgia in Times Square-Mingus (a bass
   trombone/acoustic bass duet-Very Cool!)
3. Clark Terry’s "Mumbles" (some crazy scat singing)
4. What A Wonderful World-Armstrong (the Russians
   loved this one too!)
5. Fly Me to the Moon-a Sinatra Tribute
6. Bernie’s Tune-B. Miller

We had standing ovations after every performance, and great receptions after wards. After the third performance, word spread throughout the tour that this group was "outstanding" and a "must hear." If fact, the Russian audiences nicknamed me "The Black Trombone (go figure)." I felt like a rock star!

After Magnitogorsk, we played concerts in Ekaterinberg (a beautiful concert venue with lots of marble and big acoustics), Kamensk (small, but decent hall), Perm ( an excellent hall, very big city, great people), Chelyabinsk (an 500 seat Organ recital hall-nice!), Surgut (live from Siberia-Brrrrr!!), Omsk (more Siberia-very cold weather, very warm people), back to Moscow for one of four concerts (two at jazz/supper clubs, one at Valrei’s high school, and the final one at Moscow’s main concert hall venue, Dom Musikee). We had one other concert in Kalingrad (they love Valeri there-nice old cathedral converted into a concert hall) before our final three concerts back in Moscow.

Before our last concert, Valeri expressed his joy and gratitude by telling us he plans to come back to Texas this summer and record a CD with us. We were ecstatic with this news, and spoke of plans to return next year for more performances, as well as proposing a European and Asian tour. The tour was a huge success, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We also made some great new friends (Sergei, Misha and his wife Tanya) and returned with enough memories to last a lifetime.

I was particularly pleased that my health was good throughout the tour. I had my blood pressure and kidney medications with me and took them twice a day as prescribed. The food was great, we had excellent libations (especially the vodka-magnificent!), all our transport, meals, and lodging were covered, and we took some interesting train rides (including one 28-30 hour trip) on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It’s good to see that jazz music (and American jazz musicians) is really appreciated in Russia, and I look forward to the next opportunity to perform there again. My Edwards Model B454 Bass Trombone (with D slide attachment) was a big hit with Russian musicians (particularly trombonists). They were thoroughly impressed with it’s big sound and flexibility. The horn held up very well on the road, and I’m thrilled with the craftsmanship and detail. It’s an AWESOME horn (lovingly named “Odin”).

Sincerely,

Ron Wilkins

Filed by Administrator at 11:35 pm under Artists, Trombone | Permalink

As many of you already know, Edwards has been working closely with Joe Alessi on a new tenor trombone the past couple of years. We are making great progress and anticipate this horn being available for sale in late 2008 or early 2009. With all the buzz this instrument is receiving, we thought it would be nice to provide you with a sample of the color we are achieving with this project. Enjoy.

Filed by Administrator at 4:57 pm under Product News, Artists, Trombone | Permalink

We recently received the following message from Edwards bass trombonist Phil Brink:

TubaMania is the brainchild of Steve Rosse, who is not only a major world-class tuba soloist and principal Tuba of the Sydney Symphony, but also a major entrepreneur when it comes to fostering interest in the tuba around the world. For this first “real” TubaMania Asia Festival, he managed to get the XL Tuba Quartet from Croatia, and the great — like, GREAT! — tuba soloist and composer Roland Szentpali to come to Bangkok. We performed and had masterclasses at the Mi-Fa Center just off Sukhumvit in downtown BKK, and the experience was awesome! Can we still say awesome, or is it old hat? I for one started off feeling like a foreigner as the only trombonist on the faculty, but the other soloists and presenters quickly shut that worry down, making me feel like one of the bunch!

web.mac.com/lertkiat/Site/TubaMania_Festival_Images.html

The conference was so successful we decided to keep it up, and as a step in that direction, Steve — with whom I played in the New Mexico Symphony in 1987-88 — decided to prepare his demo CD for a commercial recording, right here in Bangkok. In setting that up he then decided to make it a recital opportunity. This is what I love about working in Thailand: “You want a concert? Let’s have a concert? How about a month from now?” And thus it was… an amazing group, with trumpet (Lertkiat Chongjirajitra), horn (Krit Vikornvongvanich), trombone (me), and Tuba (Steve), with absolutely a fantastic accompanist (Tomoko Sawano) from the Berlin Universität der Kunst. It was a very special happening, playing with all these outstanding performers, and also because this program followed a performance by the Thailand Philharmonic and was followed by me traveling to Beijing for the first of a series of three master classes, sponsored by Edwards, and one more in Hong Kong! When I got back to Thailand I was… pretty beat!

web.mac.com/lertkiat/Site/Brass_Masters_Recital_Images.html

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as we all enjoyed the performances, and classes.

Phil Brink

Filed by Administrator at 11:52 pm under Artists, Trombone | Permalink

Doug Yeo recently reviewed Jim Pugh’s X Over Trombone for the Online Trombone Journal. Check it out here: X Over Trombone: A Review. Then be sure to buy a copy!

Filed by Administrator at 3:48 pm under Artists, Trombone | Permalink

I met Massimo La Rosa while attending the 2006 Alessi Seminar in Italy. A standout in the seminar, Massimo played with great clarity and control and had a stage presence that was enjoyed by all in attendance. A year later, he auditioned for and won the Cleveland Orchestra principal trombone position.

Massimo recently visited Elkhorn in order to update his old T350. I worked with him to tailor the sound and feel to his new section and Severance Hall. I feel we were able to achieve exactly what he wants his trombone voice to be. Congratulations to Massimo for winning the audition (on his Edwards!). We wish him great success.

Filed by Christan Griego at 6:03 pm under Artists, Trombone | Permalink

Trombones are shipped and on their way to Washington DC where our tax dollars are finally working for us. The Eastern Trombone Workshop is a FREE trombone show that allows you to hear professional and the “up & comers” who compete in competitions during the workshop.

Ron Knaflic and Jared Lantzey have teamed up to work this show and help trombonists find the right equipment. If you’re serious about getting a new trombone or just wanting to see what we’re about please drop by and try our instruments. We’ve built a few exceptional instruments that are just needing to find the right player.

Paul Compton, Chris Houlding, Paul Pollard, and Brent Phillips will be guest artists at this show, so enjoy the music and make it a point to try to attend as much as possible. There are very few places putting on events such as this and without your attendance they can not continue.

Visit the ETW Web site

Filed by Christan Griego at 11:08 am under Shows, Artists, Trombone | Permalink