November 8, 2005
Trumpeter Byron Stripling brings Satchmo's jazz style to Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Singing and playing in the legendary style of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling's talent will be showcased through concerts, informal jams and school shows during a three-day residency in West Lafayette Nov. 16-18.
Stripling, a former lead trumpet player with the Count Basie Orchestra, will perform in a free public concert with the Purdue Jazz Band at 8 p.m. Nov. 18 in Purdue's Loeb Playhouse to cap a string of jazz and art activities funded by a West Lafayette Arts & Culture Enhancement Grant.
Activities began Nov. 3 with the opening of "Seeing Jazz," a select show of 100 artworks created by Happy Hollow Elementary students while listening to recordings by Stripling and other jazz artists. The works will be on display through Nov. 30. Part of that exhibit temporarily moves to the lobby of Loeb Playhouse for Stripling's Nov. 18 concert there.
Other events scheduled in Stripling's residency include an informal jazz jam at University Inn 8:30-10:30 p.m. Nov. 17, which is open to all ages and free of charge. The trumpeter will jam with the Mo Trout Quintet; the Little Rascals Seventh Grade Jazz Band will also make a special appearance.
Stripling will present his "I Feel the Rhythm" show for Happy Hollow students at 10 a.m. Nov. 16 in the school gym, and also will give a clinic for trumpeters that day at West Lafayette High School.
A frequent soloist with the Boston Pops, Stripling is "omnipresent in our culture," said Mo Trout, director of the Purdue Jazz Band. Besides performing with the Boston Pops and soloing on several continents, the trumpeter does a lot of lot of behind-the-scenes music.
"Millions have heard Byron's trumpet and voice on television commercials, TV theme songs including '20/20,' CNN and soundtracks of favorite movies," Trout said. "He plays so many styles so well, and Byron's especially known as an entertainer as well as a performer in the Louis Armstrong style. He's incredibly engaging and inspiring to be around."
Stripling's concert with the Purdue Jazz Band on Nov. 18 "will be very much in the traditionalist mode of jazz," Trout said.
On three of the tunes – old favorites "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "What a Wonderful World" and the blues-oriented "I'm Tired of Pretty Women," he'll alternately sing in his deep baritone voice and solo on the trumpet, Trout said.
"This concert's almost a history of the trumpet in jazz. We've got just about every style represented," he said. "Tiger Rag" and "St. James Infirmary" are Dixieland, and "Ooo Pa Pa Da" is a bebop tune that Dizzy Gillespie made famous.
The Latin-flavored "Zamba" by Allen Vizzutti is a trumpet showcase designed for musicians with Stripling's talent, Trout said. "Vizzutti's a trumpet virtuoso, so most the things he writes, few others can play."
Student soloists will also be featured in the concert. Jazz singer Courtney Rohan, a senior from Grand Rapids, Mich., will be featured in "Summertime," "Angel Eyes" and "Blue Moon."
Trumpeter Eric Couch, a senior from Lafayette and a Jefferson High School graduate, will be featured in "King Porter Stomp," a tune written by Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton and made famous by the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Alex Fenske, a senior trumpeter from Richton Park, Ill., is featured with pianist Zachary Christian, a junior from Huntsville, Ala., in the concert's newest piece, John Clayton's "The Jazz Calling."
"Clayton went to Indiana University, is now in Los Angeles, and is one of the best contemporary big band writers," Trout said. "This is very straight-ahead, reminiscent of Thad Jones' style, but with a Clayton work there's always a twist."
No tickets are needed for the Stripling concert. Doors will open at 7 p.m. to allow concertgoers time to view the artwork.
Writer: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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