I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted
I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound
The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.
My older brother Mike is an excellent trumpet player. By the time he was 12, he was playing around Kansas City in classical situations. He was already an amazing talent.
The Unity Band project has been life-changing for me. I have led many groups of talented musicians, but this is unlike anything else.
I met Gary (Burton) at the Wichita Jazz Festival when I was 18 -- he was one of my favorite musicians and I got to play a few tunes with him there. Shortly after that, I joined his band, which was the equivalent of joining the Beatles for me! He was, and still is, one of the greatest musicians I have ever been lucky enough to be around.
Somehow trumpet is the reference point for me it was actually my first instrument.
