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Posts Tagged ‘trumpet’

Fourth Appearance at The Bellittini in Bellevue, Performing “In Retrospect” Trumpet Show

Posted by glennled on November 9, 2023

They had me back again for the fourth time! But this time, on 26 October at The Bellittini retirement community in Bellevue, it was to perform a different one-hour trumpet show.

“In Retrospect” is designed to draw the audience into recalling many common experiences that we all share through our lifetimes–when we were teenagers, when we were dating, when we were grown and single and later married, when we were raising children, when we were very happy, when we had troubles, when we lost someone whom we dearly loved, and as we are now, aging. I selected 24 popular songs from the residents’ era that are about many such common experiences.

How does a solo trumpet evoke such memories? Well, first, I use four horns and second, I play songs written to express those specific life circumstances. We simply match the song’s message and sentiment with the most compatible horn.

Each horn has a different timbre (“tam’-ber”), meaning tone quality or tone color. The sound of the trumpet and pocket trumpet is brilliant white, sharp, piercing. The cornet produces a more rounded, mellow, tan tone. The flugelhorn’s sound is big, fat, round, deep, rich brown, similar to a euphonium or mellophone. So, for the sad, slow, blues song, “St. James Infirmary,” I use the flugelhorn. For the bouncy, happy, fun song, “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” I use the trumpet. For the dreamy, lilting love song, “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” I use the cornet with a Bach 8C mouthpiece. For the idealistic, wistful, slow song, “When I Fall in Love,” I use the cornet with a Denis Wick 4 mouthpiece.

It all works quite well. The audience likes it. “In Retrospect” is becoming a favorite show of mine. You should hear it!

Please click on the images below to see the full instruments.

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: cornet, euphonium, flugelhorn, mellophone, mouthpiece, pocket trumpet, retirement community, song, The Bellettini, timbre, tone, trumpet | 4 Comments »

Fairwinds, Brighton Court in Lynnwood Hosts My Trumpet Show, “I Stand for the Flag” on Flag Day

Posted by glennled on November 3, 2023

This was my fifth performance at Fairwinds, Brighton Court (FBC) in Lynnwood–the most, so far, at any of the 29 retirements communities in the Greater Seattle area where I have presented at least one of my six trumpet shows!

Glenn Ledbetter plays “You’re a Grand Old Flag” on his Jupiter pocket trumpet.

The occasion, this time, was Flag Day, the 14th of June 2023. Flag Day commemorates the adoption on 14 June 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress, of the USA flag. The idea of celebrating this event was born in 1885. For more information about Flag Day, please use the Archives column to the left to see my blog post of 16 July 2019.

At FBC, I performed my show, “I Stand for the Flag,” which consists of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I used four instruments: my Getzen trumpet and bugle, Super Olds Cornet, and Jupiter pocket trumpet. With the trumpet, bugle and pocket trumpet, I used my Yamaha Allen Vizzutti mouthpiece, and with my cornet, I used to two mouthpieces, a Denis Wick 4 and Bach 8C.

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Allen Vizzutti mouthpiece, Bach mouthpiece, bugle, cornet, Denis Wick mouthpiece, Fairwinds Brighton Court, Getzen, Jupiter, pocket trumpet, retirement community, trumpet, Yamaha | Leave a Comment »

Three Bugle Calls at Veterans Park in Lynnwood for Memorial Day Ceremony, Plus Neighborhood “Taps” in Edmonds, Plus Trumpet Show, “I Stand for the Flag,” in Redmond

Posted by glennled on June 3, 2023

*Memorial Day Ceremony 2023, Veterans Park, Lynnwood, WA*

On Memorial Day (29 May), I performed at three different venues—Veterans Park in Lynnwood, my Perrinville neighborhood in Edmonds, and Fairwinds, Redmond retirement community. In all, I sounded five different bugle calls and 24 patriotic marches and songs. It was a full day!

Memorial Day Ceremony, Veterans Park, Lynnwood

About 150 veterans and civilians assembled here, the largest crowd for this ceremony since we resumed it after the Covid years. The event was hosted by the City of Lynnwood and VFW Post 1040. Participants included:

VFW Post 1040 Honor Guard
Nile Shriners’ Legion of Honor from Mountlake Terrace
a piper and drummer from the Northwest Junior Pipe Band
American Legion Post 37 of Edmonds
Boy Scout Troop 49 of Lynnwood
Gold Star Mothers, Washington State Chapter
Lynnwood Firefighters

So, I sounded “Assembly” to start the event at 11 a.m., using my Getzen bugle. The guest speaker was Michelle Black, a Gold Star Mother (for more information on Gold Star Mothers, please see my blog post of 19 June 2014, using the Archives in left column). Incidentally, the Gold Star Mothers Monument in Veterans Park was dedicated on 2 November 2022, when I performed “Echo Taps” with Laurence Stusser, my trumpet student, who sounded the “echo” part on his 1947 Super Olds (Los Angeles) trumpet.

At the close of the ceremony, I sounded “Echo Taps” with the “echo” part sounded by Nolan Stewart, using his Bach trumpet. He will attend Oregon State University this fall and will be a member of the marching band. Finally, at noon, VFW Post 1040 Commander, John Beam, raised the flag from half to full mast, as I sounded “To the Color.”

“Taps” for my Neighbors

I’m a member of “Taps for Veterans,” a nationwide organization of buglers who perform at local ceremonies and funerals for veterans (please see http://www.tapsforveterans.org). The National Moment of Remembrance was inaugurated by Congress in 2000. It is an annual event that asks Americans, wherever they are at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to pause for one minute to remember those who have died in military service to the United States. Taps Across America (a sister organization at http://www.tapsacrossamerica.org) promotes this event by the sounding of “Taps” in local neighborhoods at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.

In my case, however, I had to be in Redmond at that time, so I rushed from sounding “To the Color” at the above event in Lynnwood to my home in Edmonds, where I stood on our front porch and sounded “Taps” at about 12:20 p.m. A neighbor took my photo. Then, I hopped in my car at 12:30 and rushed to Redmond, where I was to perform one of my six trumpet shows at a retirement community at 2:00.

“I Stand for the Flag” at Fairwinds, Redmond Retirement Community

This was my second appearance at Fairwinds, Redmond. This one-hour show consists of two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. The audience sang along as I played my five horns: Getzen Trumpet, 1954 Super Olds Cornet (Los Angeles), Austin Custom Brass (ACB) Flugelhorn, Jupiter Pocket Trumpet, and Getzen Field Trumpet (Bugle). The two bugle calls in this show are “Sunset” (my favorite British call) and “Tattoo” (my favorite American call). I told a few jokes, too. It’s always fun!

Please click on any photo (above) to enlarge it. Four are by Mario Lotmore of Lynnwood Times, three by Jasmine Contreas-Lewis of Lynnwood Today, one by J.W., and five by me.

Posted in Ceremonies & Celebrations, Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Bach, bugle calls, echo taps, Fairwinds Redmond, Getzen bugle, marching band, ret, student, Taps, trumpet | 4 Comments »

“I Stand for the Flag” at Merrill Gardens, Renton Centre on 23 May for Early Memorial Day Celebration

Posted by glennled on May 25, 2023

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Austin Custom Brass (ACB), bugle calls, cornet, Getzen, horns, Jupiter, marches, Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, Super Olds, trumpet | Comments Off on “I Stand for the Flag” at Merrill Gardens, Renton Centre on 23 May for Early Memorial Day Celebration

“I’m Back in the Saddle Again”

Posted by glennled on April 24, 2023

My last post here was in last July, about 9-1/2 months ago. Why so long ago? For a whole variety of reasons, but let me name the Big Four:

Too busy/lazy in most of July 2022
Traveling from August to mid-October
Fracture in lower back, plus sciatica, on 1 December
Recovery/rehab from December to present

Last December, I was forced to cancel four trumpet shows at retirement communities in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and La Conner, and neither could I sound “Echo Taps” at the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at Veterans Cemetery at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle, as I have done since 2011. For three months, I had to cancel all by trumpet lessons with my students.

And now, finally, after a total of almost five months, thank God, “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” as Gene Autrey crooned in my youth. Proof? A bone-density test showed that I don’t have osteoporosis. Recent X-rays revealed that the fracture has healed. I don’t have to wear a back brace anymore. I still use the walker or cane often, for safety, but not always, as I had to for the first three months. I’m getting out-and-about more and more!

And the best proof of all is that on 21 April, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “In Retrospect,” at Aljoya, Mercer Island, driving myself on the freeways, both to and fro. It consists of about two dozen hit songs from the residents’ era, and they get to sing (and hum) along! I used four of my five horns—trumpet, cornet, pocket trumpet, and flugelhorn, but not my bugle. It was my third appearance at Aljoya, M.I. They have now seen/heard two of my six shows. This was the first time I’ve been able to play my new flugelhorn in public. It was a Christmas gift from my wife. I used it for “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” “Alfie,” and “St. James Infirmary Blues.”

Meanwhile, just for the record, here are the 17 articles that I could have written and posted during the past 9-1/2 months, if this or that had or had not happened:

2 July – “I Stand for the Flag” performed at The Bellettini in Bellevue
17 June 2022 – “Where Were You, Back Then?” at Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre
4 July – “I Stand for the Flag” at Aljoya, Thornton Place in North Seattle
5 August – Attended 71st Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland (our fifth attendance)
30 September – Performed “Taps” for my high school classmate, Eddie Ray Hendrikson, USAF Veteran, at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Texas
1 October – Performed abbreviated show for my classmates at our high school reunion in Texas
2 November – Performed “Echo Taps” with Laurence Stusser, trumpeter, as the “echo” at the dedication ceremony for the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Lynnwood
9 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at The Bellettini
10 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at University House, Wallingford in Seattle
11 November – Entire ceremony at Veterans Park cancelled by the City of Lynnwood; no “Echo Taps”
12 November – One of my trumpet students played “I Ain’t Worried” at Lessons In Your Home’s Fall Recital in Phinney Ridge in Seattle
14 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at Fairwinds, Brighton Court in Lynnwood
2, 5, 16, 17, & 22 December – the five cancellations mentioned above

So far this year, I’ve been very cautious about committing to my usual busy schedule of performances. Right now, I’m booked for only 8 more performances. But now that “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” I’m ready for more!

By Angel Johnson of Aljoya, Mercer Island:

By Greg Asimakopoulos:

Flugelhorn, “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”

Pocket Trumpet, “Get Me to the Church on Time”

Cornet, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”

Courtesy of Aljoya, Mercer Island:

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Aljoya Mercer Island, Aljoya Thornton Place, bugle, cornet, Echol Taps, Fairwinds Brighton Court, flugelhorn, I'm Back in the Saddle Again, La Conner Retirement Inn, lessons, Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre, pocket trumpet, retirement community, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, students, The Bellettini, trumpet, trumpet show, University House Wallingford | 6 Comments »

Flurry of Memorial Day of Performances in Lynnwood (twice), Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond

Posted by glennled on July 5, 2022

Every year when public demand peaks for a bugler/trumpeter, I’m happy to hop-skip-and-jump all over the Greater Seattle area to perform. This year, as usual, there were lots of opportunities surrounding Memorial Day. I sounded bugle calls at two venues and presented my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag” at three different retirement communities in four different cities:

26 May – Edmonds Community College (ECC) in Lynnwood – my sixth appearance
27 May – Skyline Towers in Seattle – second appearance
28 May – The Bellettini in Bellevue – first appearance
30 May – Veterans Park, Lynnwood – tenth appearance
30 May – Fairwinds Redmond – second appearance

At the ceremony at ECC, dressed in my VFW uniform, I sounded two bugle calls: “To the Color” inside the Black Box Theatre and “Taps” outside near the Boots to Books and Beyond monument. Native American Peter Ali improvised solos on two of his flutes twice during the ceremony.

At Skyline Towers retirement community in downtown Seattle, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” again in uniform. It is a collection of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I did the same show at The Bellettini in downtown Bellevue and at Fairwinds Redmond.

But before performing in the afternoon in Redmond on Memorial Day, I also sounded three bugle calls in the morning at Veterans Park in Lynnwood: “Assembly,” “Echo Taps,” and “To the Color.” Lukas Breen sounded the echo part in “Echo Taps.” He is an Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in Everett. We both play Getzen bugles. Other musicians were a piper and drummer from the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, playing “Scotland the Brave,” “The Rowan Tree,” “Battle’s O’er,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Going Home.”

For more information about these venues, please go to these websites:

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

ECC by Arutyun Sargsyan

ECC by Me

Skyline Towers (two)

The Bellettini

Fairwinds Redmond

Posted in Ceremonies & Celebrations, Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Assembly, bugle, echo taps, Fairwinds Redmond, flutes, marches, NW Junior Pipe Band, retirement community, Skyline Towers, solos, songs, The Bellettini, To the Color, trumpet | Leave a Comment »

My Trumpet Student Stars at Recital in Seattle by Lessons In Your Home

Posted by glennled on June 5, 2022

He had never performed a trumpet solo in front of an audience. He’s 13 and this fall will be an 8th grader at McClure Middle School on Queen Anne in Seattle. Weeks ago, he sorted through several possible songs and then made his choice–“The Wild Blue Yonder,” the official song of U.S. Air Force.

“The Wild Blue Yonder,”
photo by Stephanie Owen

I was very pleased. It not only is a great, patriotic song, but also it presented some technical challenges for him. One is range. In the trumpet key of C (Concert Bb) near the end of the piece, the high Es are in the top of the range where he plays confidently. Then, there is the time signature–6/8, with its many triplets throughout. Next, there are several accidentals (all sharps). Finally, there is rhythm–one couplet. Through isolation and repetition, we worked out all the frustrating kinks, and he mastered them all. Despite the common butterflies all performers experience, he played confidently and expertly with a nice tone. Hooray!

He began lessons with me in March 2020, just as Covid-19 struck the USA and lockdowns forced students out of their school classrooms and online. As of the recital date, all our lessons had been on Zoom.com. I had never met him or his family in person until we introduced ourselves and sat together in the audience at The Royal Room in the Columbia district of south Seattle on 15 May. He made his mother, father, sister, and I proud. It was lovely. Success is sweet.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

Posted in Recitals | Tagged: accidentals, band, lessons, Lessons in Your Home, range, recital, rhythm, sharps, song, The Wild Blue Yonder, time signature, triplets, trumpet | Leave a Comment »

Armed Forces Day Draws Me to Merrill Gardens at the University in Seattle

Posted by glennled on June 1, 2022

Until this year, I’d never been asked to perform my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” on Armed Forces Day. But that changed when Mindy Milton, Active Living Program Director, booked me to return for the second time to Merrill Gardens at the University in Seattle on Saturday, 21 May 2022. (Please see my blog article of 15 August 2021.)

I played 24 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls on four instruments: my Getzen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, Getzen field trumpet (bugle), and Jupiter pocket trumpet. The repertoire includes “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” “Tattoo” (a bugle call), the official songs of all five branches, “The Liberty Bell” (a march by John Philip Sousa), “Over There,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” The audience sang along and laughed at a few jokes.

How does Armed Forces Day differ from other military holidays and observance days? It celebrates all five branches of the military on the third Saturday of May, annually. The five branches are the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The first four are within the Department of Defense (DOD), created in 1947. The Coast Guard is within the Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002. The Space Development Agency is one of many agencies within the DOD.

Armed Forces Day was created on 31 August 1949 when Harry S. Truman was President. It was first celebrated on 20 May 1950—five years after WWII ended and one month before the beginning of the Korean War.

The longest, continuously-running, Armed Forces Day Parade in the USA is held in Bremerton, Washington. This year, Bremerton celebrated its 73rd Armed Forces Day Parade.

Major wars and conflicts in which the U.S. military participated:

Revolutionary War
Indian Wars of the 1790s
War of 1812
American Civil War
Spanish-American War of 1898
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Gulf War
Afghanistan

Numerical facts:

About 800 military bases outside the U.S.
About 1.2 million active-duty personnel in the U.S. military
About 800,000 reserves
About 18 million living veterans
More than 81,600 POW/MIA personnel, mostly from WWII

Photos are courtesy of Merrill Gardens at the University. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: bugle, cornet, Getzen, marches, Merrill Gardens at the University, retirement community, songs, Super Olds, trumpet | Leave a Comment »

“In Retrospect” Trumpet Show at Merrill Gardens at Burien

Posted by glennled on March 15, 2022

It’s always nice to be invited back to perform one of my six trumpet shows for the residents of a retirement home. And so it was, on the 4th of March, that I drove to Merrill Gardens retirement community in Burien to present my show, “In Retrospect,” comprised of 25 hit songs from the residents’ era. Last July, I had performed “I Stand for the Flag” (25 patriotic marches, songs and bugle calls) there in my VFW uniform.

Here’s a sample of the popular songs in the “In Retrospect” repertoire:

I Whistle a Happy Tune
When I Fall in Love
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
Dream a Little Dream of Me
I’ve Got the World on a String
Money, Money, Money
You Are My Sunshine
When I’m 64
What a Wonderful World
God Bless America

I use three horns: my trumpet, cornet, and pocket trumpet and by inserting my Denis Wick 4 mouthpiece into the cornet, it sounds much like a flugelhorn. People sing along and I tell a few jokes.

Now that Covid restrictions are easing, I expect more bookings this spring and summer. For those still concerned about booking a wind instrumentalist, I can use bell covers to inhibit aerosols that might emanate as I play those great old tunes. Here is a link to the ProTec covers that I use: https://www.amazon.com/Instrument-Trumpet-Clarinet-Saxophone-A321/dp/B08HX9KFHS/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1PQCDZF934VOK&keywords=protec+trumpet+bell+cover&qid=1647288146&sprefix=Protec+trumpet+bell+covers%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-5.

For more information about Merrill Gardens at Burien, please see https://www.merrillgardens.com/senior-living/wa/burien/merrill-gardens-at-burien/ and my previous blog post dated 15 August 2021.

Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: bugel calls, cornet, Denis Wick, flugelhorn, horn, marches, Merrill Gardens at Burien, mouthpiece, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, trumpet | Leave a Comment »

“An Evening with Chris Botti”

Posted by glennled on March 14, 2022

He came here so I had to go–Chris Botti, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Seattle, 11 January 2022, 7:30 p.m. At the entry, they checked my Covid vaccination and booster credentials, and I found my Table 160 (partially obstructed view), $106.50. Halfway into the show, they let me move to an empty table with a perfect view. Bought my favorite cocktail, a “Stinger on the Rocks,” and sipped it all night.

Great show! What Botti can do with his horn is amazing–the variety of sounds, the accuracy of intonation and articulation in all ranges, the styles of music! I never saw him change horns or mouthpieces. And I was impressed with how he sometimes stepped aside into the shadows and featured every member of his troupe, including his five guest performers. I did not recognize most pieces, but I did know “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “When I Fall in Love,” “You Don’t Know Lovin’,” “Blue in Green” (Miles Davis), “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Time to Say Goodbye,” and Puccini’s aria, “Nessun Dorma” from his opera, Turandot.

Botti’s quintet consists of trumpet, piano/keyboard, bass, guitar, and drums. His five guest performers were Lucia Micarelli, violinist; Sy Smith, female vocalist; Chad LB (Lefkowitz-Brown), tenor saxophonist; Jonathan Johnson, tenor vocalist; and Veronica Swift, female vocalist.

What a great treat it is to hear great performers! Do it.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.