The Three Well Known Trumpeters Of The Twentieth Century

The trumpet is a brass tube that is four feet long when stretched out. The tube is curved twice into an oblong shape with three air valves to control the tone. The player then blows into one end of the tube using his lips to control volume. This instrument is but a piece of metal to the ordinary person but in the hands of a master, it can play sweet music for the audience. Here are some of the most well known trumpeters of the 20th century.

1) Louis “Satch” Armstrong

Born in the Big Easy at the turn of the 19th century, Satchmo had a distinct playing style which used jazz to put on scintillating performance solos during his sets. Though he started playing the cornet, he moved to the trumpet to allow him more flexibility in his playing style. During the 1920's his playing and his raspy singing style set the tone for the era. He played a great influence on the later generation of jazz artists up to the present. His greatest record is probably “It's a Wonderful World” which immortalized his greatness as a musical artist.

2) Dizzy Gillespie

Coming at the heels of Satchmo is Dizzy Gillespie, born of humble beginnings in South Carolina. His distinct style of tonal quality and complex harmonies earned him a niche in the jazz music scene of the 1940s. His signature glasses and beret, plus his scat performances when on vocals were the precursors of bebop, which was disdained by the jazz purists of that time. He also played with a bent trumpet, whose bell was curved upwards for tonal quality. But over time, seeing his virtuosity and his musicality, Dizzy won these critics over to his jazz stylings. And from then on, jazz students have taken his style and included it in their own thus developing the playing style and flexibility of the trumpet.

3) Chuck Mangione

When the 1970s rolled in, one name stood out in the jazz world and his name was Chuck Mangione. Founding upon the technique of Satchmo and the harmonies of Dizzy, he created his cool style by using television to reach a more diverse audience. Nicknamed “the Hat,” he showed boundless energy and enthusiasm in trying to reach a wider audience to propagate the trumpet and jazz music in general. His albums had reached platinum status and his performance in the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid still holds the record for the biggest audience worldwide for a trumpeter. His volunteer work and his philanthropy together with fellow jazz artists have elevated the trumpet not only as a musical instrument but as a tool to equalize the imbalance in the world.

The trumpet has been a musical instrument for ages. It has been playing beautiful notes from the 1920's under the hand of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, the harmonies of Dizzy Gillespie and the wide expanse of reach by Chuck Mangione. Truly, the trumpet has expanded its reach to a wider audience and for a higher purpose.