Recollections of Maurice Andre

Maurice Andre

To those who know, there is little to say about him that hasn't been said. You already know his deserved fame and status among the greatest of 20th-century trumpeters. You know his singing tone, his faultless technique, his many brilliant recordings. If you do not know, thanks to the marvel of the Internet and YouTube, you can (and should) take some time to listen to the many recordings and videos you can find there of Maurice Andre playing trumpet. You won't regret it. To my students: this is required! Give yourself plenty of time to listen and learn from the best.

I have no photos with him. I never shook his hand. I heard him play twice in Los Angeles, but I never met him. Actually, I almost met him, but that's another story for another blog...

But he influenced me profoundly, as I think he influenced so many trumpeters in and around my generation. And thanks to him and my parents, I had one of my first amazing music lessons.

Haydn's Trumpet Concerto is one of those pieces that is frequently used as audition pieces for high school trumpeters, so I first encountered it when I was 13 or 14. I practiced and practiced and practiced it, and then I practiced it some more. I lived in Red Bluff, California, a little town in rural northern California, and record stores were few and far between. I know they're basically non-existent now, but in those pre-digital days before CDs and the rest, records were big, if you could get at them, and we didn't get at them easily.

Somehow, for Christmas one year, my parents got me a record of Maurice Andre playing some trumpet concertos, including the Haydn. When I had the chance, I eagerly played it on my little Capehart record player. It was a real ear-opener. I'd never heard such glorious, effortless, gorgeous playing! I listened to the recording again. I recall listening to it only twice, before I had to take out my Bach B-flat trumpet (having no idea yet about E-flat trumpets) and play through the concerto myself.

I was amazed to find that I could instantly play the concerto at least twice as well as I could play it before I heard Andre's recording. No pondering, no period of soaking in, no gradual progress. The improvement was instantaneous. I felt like a completely different player. Literally, one minute I could play it at one level, and after listening to Andre, my quality of performance doubled, or more. I learned a very important lesson that day. Concept is nearly everything. Being able to play the notes, without knowing how they really should sound, is a very small part of making music. Having a high concept of how music should sound is not only helpful, but requisite.

I heard him play 'live' for the first time in 1980 in Los Angeles. Maybe late 1979. I was a freshman at Occidental College, and four of us crammed into a friend's little old Datsun that barely moved in the first place, and whose handling was not improved by a quartet of eager young trumpeters folded into its tight dimensions. If you know the Pasadena Freeway, with its stop and go onramps in the Highland Park area, you can imagine my excitement even before the concert. White knuckles doesn't begin to describe it. I'd never seen the Pasadena freeway, and I'd never been in a car that needed to go from zero to 60 in about a block, as three lanes of traffic bore down on us at full speed. In the dark. And I think it was raining. Anyway, we survived that and got to and from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles in the same number of pieces we started out with. I'd never been there before, either. It was a night of firsts for a kid fresh from the sticks.

As young as I was, I still knew the audience was chock full of trumpeters. They were everywhere, and there were more big names than you could imagine. It was a trumpet and organ recital, and it was terrific. He'd given a master class, too – which I heard was even more amazing – but I wasn't able to attend that. It was a thrilling night.

In 1984 or 1985, I heard him again. He played the Haydn with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at the Embassy Theater in downtown L.A. Fantastic. That was the night I very nearly met him. But, enough for now. That's definitely a story for another blog.

I wish I'd met him. I wish I'd shaken his hand. I wish I had a photo. But no. His blessing to me was to record wonderful music that I and the world rejoiced in. I thank him now for that pivotal day many years ago when he gave me my first lesson on how to play the Haydn. I'll never forget it.

Thank you, Mr. Andre. Merci.