Edwards

This post’s title should be screamed like Kirk screamed Khan in Star Trek II. Because that’s how much we hate spam.

Recently, our Google spam filters have grown a little overzealous. As a result, many contact/order/appointment submissions were sent to Christan’s spam folder. He’s sorting it all out now. We apologize for the inconvenience.

May the 4th be with you.

Howdy Folks,

I’ve been in Tokyo for the past month, playing a dozen or so concerts and finishing up a new recording with Braindreamer, my 10 year old duo with pianist/composer Jacob Koller. We have one more concert this Thursday, May 6. We’ll be sharing the bill with the fantastic duo of pianist/composer Satoko Fujii and trumpeter/composer Natsuki Tamura. Here are the details:

Thursday May 6
Cremonia Studio in Ogikubo
7:30PM
adv. 2000 yen/ at the door 2500 yen
5-22-7 Ogikubo
Suginami-ku, Tokyo 167-0051

Cremonia is 2 minutes from Ogikubo (JR or subway) south exit. Here is the map (in Japanese!)

http://philstone.at.infoseek.co.jp/cremoniatpnew2.html

If you need any extra info, please email me: brian (at) braintone (dot) com

We’re both doing duo sets with separate grand pianos. Seems like some 2 piano/2 horn quartet excitement is in order too. I played with Satoko 4 years ago at The Stone in NYC with her NY Orchestra and before that as a duo at University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Both were truly special and memorable events. If you don’t know their music, visit Satoko’s website.

Braindreamer is the new name for the duo, originally called Brainkiller. Brainkiller has permanently morphed into a trio with drummer Hernan Hecht so we’ve given each group a separate identity.

For more about Braindreamer, including live and new audio and video material (audio/video), visit www.braintone.com/braindreamer. Also, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-L7Oz0smaw to see a short “making of” video of our upcoming album “bAtOnQ”.

We’re planning a fall US tour for the new CD release. Please drop a line if you’d be interested in having us perform and/or give a workshop. Performance opportunities are increasingly rare for us. Jacob lives in Tokyo now, playing and teaching like a madman (his new Chopin piano trio CD on the Japanese label Omagatoki is getting gobs of attention here and truly is off the chain, I must say).

Thanks, as always, for your interest.

Brian Allen

Troy Andrews, aka Trombone Shorty, is certainly making a name for himself. A few years ago, he was featured on an episode of the NBC series Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip. He is appearing on the HBO series Treme (Andrews grew up in the famous neighborhood). And his latest CD, Backatown, is getting attention from publications like Entertainment Weekly and USA Today.

Starting at 3 pm (Eastern US daylight time) today, you can hear an interview with Andrews on NPR’s On Point. Check it out, and then buy his CD!

Update: We just received artwork of Troy and his Edwards Gen3X Trumpet to be featured on the sides of Canal St. streetcars in New Orleans through May 15.

Mike Dugan and Christan Griego recently got together in the Pro Stop to demonstrate the Harmonic Bridge and Pillars on the Alessi horn. The audio is actually quite good, so you should be able to hear the differences in tone as Christan adjusts Mike’s setup. These videos can also be viewed on the T396-A product page.

Joe Alessi will perform a recital on April 11 at King of Glory Lutheran Church this Sunday, April 11. Admission is a $15 donation, which will benefit the Bert Truax Summer Trumpet Camp held in June at King of Glory.

Concert details

In April of 2000 I first visited Edwards for a T350. Previously I had canceled a few appointments to visit, but finally did show up.

And boy was I glad I did.

That day was amazing and overwhelming as Christan fit me to a trombone that I still play and love to this day. What I never imagined that day was the door that was opened and the great friendship I was in for. After mountain biking with Christan during the summer the opportunity came to work here part-time while finishing my undergrad at UW-Whitewater. After graduation it was a natural progression as Edwards became my home.

At just shy of 10 years with Edwards the amount of great musicians and people I have had the pleasure of fitting makes me smile. I appreciate your trust in us. There are so of many of you that have shaped my life and kept me coming back every day. But let’s face it, playing with trombones and trumpets all day can’t be all work! Some days I would come home and tell my wife about my day. The common response was “Do you actually work at work?”

What will be the most lasting and hardest to leave is all the friends I have worked with. Their kindness, knowledge and generosity of their lives is very humbling.

Thank you all, most especially Christan.
You have been a great friend, mentor and incredibly patient boss. (Let’s continue the first two!)

Wednesday April 7th will be my last day playing with trombones and trumpets. I am off to different pastures and new challenges. I know the future here is in great hands with many new things to come.

Hopefully I will cross paths at gigs(if I write this, then maybe I will practice more) with some of you. I leave you with something that was posted here once before. It is one of my favorite thank you gifts we have received and it is from the trombone extraordinaire, eccentric, avant-garde, super-duper guy Brian Allen entitled “Domogriego”

Listen! (3.9 MB)

We’ve recently added some new artists and cleaned up some existing entries. Check out these talented musicians:

• Jason Beghtol
  Bass Trombonist, Tupelo Symphony and Professor, Northeast Mississippi Community College
• Barry Hearn
  Assistant Principal Trombonist, National Symphony Orchestra
• Brian Hecht
  Bass Trombonist, Washington DC Military Band
• Anthony Mazzocchi
  Professor, Montclair State and Professor, Kean University

The musical world lost a tremendous artist last fall when Fred Mills passed away. This is a recording of Joe Alessi performing Daybreak by Nicola Ferro at Mills’ memorial service. Damon Denton accompanied Alessi.

I recently just returned from Tuscaloosa, AL where Edwards exhibited at The Trumpet Festival of the Southeast hosted by Eric Yates and the U of Alabama.

Great festival where I was able to attend a great performance by Phil Smith and hang with some very fine musicians. Thanks to everyone who came out and tried our trumpets!

Whenever we travel for shows and conventions we always try to eat locally. What I mean by that is to make every attempt to avoid any franchise or chain restaurant. Not only does this support more of the local economy, but the food is almost always better. Hey if we expect you to support the little guy, we need to as well.

So here is how I do it. In the past I have always asked the hotel clerk, but after some bad meals I find that they may not always have the best taste. So instead I go to Google Maps and find my hotel. Once there I use the Search Nearby. Then I proceed to type in what I am looking for. In Tuscaloosa I was looking for BBQ! Once you enter that in the closest places pop up. You can then sort by how stars the restaurants have and also read local reviews. There is a plethora of info on each place.

So where did I eat?

• Mike & Ed’s BBQ
  No atmosphere, didn’t pretend it needed it. I had the Pork plate with Potato Salad(German Style). Came with pickles and two slices of white bread. Great sauces, I mixed and combined the Spicy and Sweet. Speaking of sweet, their Sweet Tea is great! I regret not taking a bottle of their sauce home with me.
• Los Tarascos
  I realize this is not BBQ, but I have a spot in my heart for Mexican food. Set in a strip mall, the atmosphere is decorated with Mexican art but overall nothing but functional. First of, great salsa! Nice mix of cilantro and various spices. Hard time not just eating the chips and salsa for dinner. At the advice of the waiter I ordered what I remember to be #51. Comprised of small fajitas with guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and carrots. Tasty dish, but not easy to eat. Good food, but maybe not a destination type place.
• Full Moon BBQ
  I was unable to take in the atmosphere of this Tuscaloosa classic as I trying to squeeze this in between packing the show back up and the Phil Smith concert. Drive-Thru! I ordered the pork plate with fries and baked beans for sides. Sauce was just right amount of tang, but plenty of sweet. The fries and beans migrated into the sauce and that was just great! Nothing beats a belly full of BBQ and listening to one of the world’s best trumpet players!
• Chuck’s Fish
  This place was the hang after the Phil Smith concert. Being still full from the Full Moon BBQ I was reluctant, but then Rebecca Wilt informed me that they had great sushi! Big place, separate room for parties which had a jazz combo playing. Upon asking the waitress for recommendations we learned of a sushi roll that was off menu. Called the Screaming O…” it was a great mix of avocado, grilled tuna and various other items that I forget. Expensive little roll, near $13, but after finishing it, it was worth every penny.

Now you know how we gain a few extra pounds on each trip.

Keep this blog in mind and support your local businesses!

We appreciate your business as do all independents.

For those curious to see what Marshall’s been up to, check this out: