Empire West Live | Music Photography Colorado Springs, CO. | Colorado Springs Music Photographer

"A friend of mine was a rep for Buffet Crampon. He carried a line of trumpets called B & S. I had never heard of them before. I was very happy with the trumpets I was playing and I wasn’t interested in switching. He just asked me what would it hurt to try them, so I reluctantly did. It was more than reluctance, I was trying to not like the horn. He gave me two horns to try and one was okay. The other one was really good, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through all that it takes to change horns. The next day I played that horn on a gig and was blown away at the response, the versatility, and the sound. From then on anytime I needed a Bb trumpet that was the horn I played. I’ve played this horn with Doc Severenson twice, Four Tops, Tempatations, the O’jays, Adina Menzel, Johnny Mathis, Josh Groben, and Robin Ford to name a few. Many musicals Wicked, West Side Story, Book of Mormon, Pippin etc. Countless RPO performances, and gigs galore."

"I love this horn; it is so versatile. Because of all the different genres of music that I play, I needed something that can play Freedom Trio on Thursday, Shostakovich on Friday, Dennis Brown on Saturday and Hovhaness on Sunday. This model trumpet was marketed as a jazz horn, but I think it is much more than that! However........this is the end of an era for me with this horn. I have switched to a different instrument maker. I am in a brass quintet called the Gateway's Brass Collective. We are sponsored by Conn Selmer. This company holds the ever coveted trumpet, that when I was a boy used to dream about getting, until my father got me one in 8th grade... The Bach Stradivarius. Now I'm sponsored by them, so stay tuned for the story behind my new trumpet!"

"I would have to say my most favorite musician of all time from Rochester, NY is Steve Gadd. With a resume like Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Chuck Mangione, and B.B. King to name a few, and countless recordings. Not only is he my favorite from Rochester, but one of my favorites in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him a few times. He is probably the best drummer I’ve ever shared the stage with."