What the Pros Play - Trumpet Legend Gary Grant

Woodwind & Brasswind Contributing Writer - Tony Guerrero

I could literally take up this entire article and the next one by simply listing Gary Grant’s resume. It is a spell binding who’s-who of the music industry, not to mention his appearance on hundreds of movie soundtracks and TV shows. But, to just name a scant few: Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Men In Black, Forest Gump, Back To The Future, Rocky 3/4/5, Tootsie, The Muppet Movie, Austin Powers….okay, seriously, I’ve got to stop.

Suffice to say, if you aspire to achieve trumpet greatness, there are few other benchmarks than Gary Grant’s career.

I had a chance to speak with Gary about his preferred equipment choices. I was pleased to learn that he puts much more stock in the player over the gear. There are many musicians who spend hours debating the benefits of micro-measurements in a certain lead pipe, or in the exact placement of a slide’s bracket. And while these are all important to a degree, we should never forget that the player is the truly crucial thing. The best horn in the hands of a bad player will sound, well, bad. But even the least of the student models can still make music in the hands of a player who knows his craft well!

Gary’s main trumpet is a Bach Stradivarius (Model 43), a horn that has found much favor over the years with professionals. “I’ve tried other horns,” he says, “but I always lean back to the Bach, it’s always worked for me and I like the sound of it.” He switches between three different flugelhorns – Yamaha, Kanstul and Couesnon - depending on the situation he finds himself in. He’s played on a Bob Reeves mouthpiece for years (Bob Reeves is a popular horn technician in the Los Angeles area).

“I don’t experiment with different horns too much. I believe it’s more in the player than it is the horn. Of course, sometimes I play other people’s horns and I think, ‘Man, that plays really nice!’, and you want to get wrapped up in that, you know? Whenever you play a new horn, there’s a honeymoon period of about a week or ten days until the real characteristics of the horn settle in for you. You can’t always trust your original reaction to a horn.”

His arsenal of mutes is large – “I’ve got them all, I can’t even tell you all their names!” - and he tries to have many different versions and models of the same type. He leans towards liking the older, stone-lined mutes, such as the Humes & Berg and likes the Vacchiano Straight Mute and uses the classic Harmon mute. He has many mutes to choose from and may decide based on either the situation or what other players in a section are using, so as to match sounds well.

Gary also uses Al Cass valve oils, another brand that is a favorite among trumpet professionals.

“One thing I’m into more than the gear choice, is keeping the gear I do play in good condition. It should stay clean and functional at all times. Make sure there are no leaks, wipe it down when you’re done playing, empty the spit valves, and don’t let the gunk build up in it. This is all crucial.”

I encourage you to take a quick visit to his website at www.garygrantmusic.com and get a bigger picture of just how much Gary has done. You can also order one of his own CDs through the site, and, while your there, be sure to download his “Studio Musician’s Manual”!