Current Articles

I mow my lawn with a John Deere mower. Growing up my family had every kind of push mower imaginable - from the Kmart special to the Wal-Mart special. Every one got the job done, but it was never easy work, especially in the hot New Mexico sun. The thing I remember most about those days is how difficult it was to start those bargain basement machines. I can't begin to tell you how much of my youth was wasted pulling on stubborn mower cords. On the worst occasions, I'd eventually give up and try a new spark plug or air cleaner; sometimes I'd even rebuild the carburetor. When all else failed my father would look at me and say, "well, it's time to get a new mower", and the latest push special would roll into our lives.

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FOSSANO, ITALY – It started innocently enough with a trip to O'Hare International Airport, but after 20 hours and 15 minutes -- due to O'Hare traffic and a re-route to Rome -- I finally arrived at my destination. The reason for this report is not to complain about current airline travel conditions but rather to let the trombone world know of the events of the recent Alessi Seminar held in Fossano, Italy.

After attending the past three Alessi seminars in Nyack, New York, I had an understanding of what the seminar would entail. These events are trombone "boot camps" for the participants. However, auditors can learn just as much as the privates in Alessi's company. More ››

With characters resembling heroes and villains, quests for treasure with mishaps on the way, and the ultimate hope to live happily ever after with a newly found love interest, the search for a great instrument could likely be compared to the drama of a Grimm Fairy Tale. While many trombonists may find their voice on an early horn of choice, others find their discriminating needs unmet by the production line. While seemingly business partners, reproduction and consistency have held a grudge with each other in the recent pickings of the American trombone market. Unsatisfied with the quality and performance of my instrument, I began paying closer attention to my favorite players, and incidentally their favorite trombones.

I had noticed my teacher Wycliffe Gordon playing his Edwards T302 for the past 2 years and thought little of it (Wycliffe can make a tooth brush sound great!) until he brought his old horn to a recent lesson. After switching back and forth between horns, I could not believe the depth and rich color of sound captured with his Edwards Jazz horn. More ››

My relationship with the Edwards T302 goes back to its inception in 1996. I was very excited to receive a call from Edwards (from Jon Winkle actually, the artist liaison at the time) asking if I would be interested in helping out with the development of a new trombone. While I was happy with the horn I was playing at the time, the thought of being in on the ground floor of a potentially revolutionary instrument intrigued me, to say the least. I was aware of the developments and advances Edwards was making in the large bore tenor and bass trombone arena and sensed the possibility of a very interesting instrument, so I jumped at the chance. More ››

I have played Edwards Gen II trumpets (Bb, C, E/Eb/D) and Gen X trumpets (Bb and C) for more than three years and I have had direct input to their design for the past five years. I have been an Edwards Performing Artist for three years, having been a clinician for Bach for 12 years previously and Yamaha before that. I enjoy playing my Edwards trumpets. I receive many compliments from other professional players on my sound and artistry -- as much or more so than before I switched to Edwards. I feel my accuracy and consistency are much improved with enhanced sound quality and good intonation. Other Edwards players report that they perceive similar results on Edwards trumpets. More ››

On May 4-6, 2003, a residency with jazz trombone great Slide Hampton took place at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Sponsored in part by a grant from the UW-Whitewater Administration and Edwards Instruments, the workshop was held in honor of Slide's contribution as a trombonist, composer/arranger, and mentor. As part of the event, five talented university jazz trombonists: Chris Dempsey and Chris Gagne from the Berklee School of Music, Clarence Hines and Mike Williams from The Eastman School of Music, and David Winslow from The University of North Texas were chosen from around the country to work with Slide and to perform in the final concert. More ››

Christan Griego: When you first walked into the Edwards Pro Stop what was your first impression?

Steve Wiest: I think the first thing anybody notices are the wall-to-ceiling trombone bells and slides on display. I had never been in a place with such an exhaustive array of components. It was very obvious that this place is serious about putting together the most professional horns possible. The potential is almost overwhelming and very exciting. For a trombonist, it is pretty much everything you could ever want in one room! Honestly, I couldn't wait to tear into it. More ››

Christan Griego: You just got back from Austria. Do you want to talk about that trip?

David Taylor: Sure, I had a great time in Austria. On this trip, I was in Vienna, playing in two different settings: a jazz club called "Porgy and Bess," and Vienna's main concert hall. It was wild, soloing on this incredibly historic stage. In both venues, I was performing in a trio for bass trombone, soprano saxophone, and piano. More ››

I met Craig Klein while he was on the Come By Me tour with Harry Connick Jr. He called saying that he would be in Madison,WI and wanted to try some of the jazz trombones we were making. We got together and after a few weeks of work, we found a good fit and got him on the road with his new Edwards. He introduced me to the other trombonists in the group and Lucien Barbarin soon fell in love with an Edwards jazz bone and made the plunge into modularity via a .508 bore horn. Craig did more than introduce me to his fellow workers, he played me some music that changed the way I viewed the trombone in music. More ››

NYACK, NY – The Alessi Seminar is now in its third year in the US. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Joe Alessi to discuss his motivations for doing a festival of this kind, and to gain a little insight into what goes into a workshop of this size and scope. My first question was what was the inspiration for the Alessi Seminar?

"Well, first of all, I love to teach. I haven't been to too many events like this, I was a student in Snowbird, Utah, years ago and I've been to the ITA Festival." More ››

From the outside, the College of Music at the University of North Texas looked like any other big music school. But once you passed through the doors, you could tell something was different about this place. There were no sounds of clarinets, vocalists, or saxophone players, but the building was not quiet. The only sound to be heard in the practice rooms, classrooms, rehearsal and performing spaces was – the T R O M B O N E! More ››

A few months ago, Christan Griego called me to tell me about a new bass trombone he was building — the B454-D Edge. I was completely interested — that is until he told me it had dependent valves. Now I'm not the biggest proponent of using the second valve by itself, but I did like the flexibility an independent horn gave me. Christan seemed to understand my reluctance as he had been through this before. More ››