Uptempo Piece – 1999
Trumpet Summit
Quite a lineup of trumpeters
In 1999 at a European festival for what must have been the closing number on a set, five trumpeters and two flugelhornists took their turns taking one-chorus solos on an uptempo riff piece based on “I Got Rhythm.”
Clark Terry leads it off, followed by European flugelhornist Stepka Gut (who cheats by taking two choruses), Benny Bailey, Wynton Marsalis (whose tongue-in-cheek chorus sticks to long dissonant notes), Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove (in excellent form), Terell Stafford, and Jon Faddis (who sticks to high notes).
The brass giants are accompanied by pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Pierre Boussaguet, and drummer Alvin Queen.
While this performance should have been much more extended with longer solos and tradeoffs, it does give viewers the opportunity to see quite a few greats playing together.
-Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald