Roger Ingram

Roger Ingram
Background information
Birth name Roger O'Neal Ingram
Born November 13, 1957
Pasadena, California, United States
Genres Jazz, swing music, big band, pop music, Christian music
Occupation(s) Musician, educator, author, designer
Years active 1972-present
Labels Avion, Blue Note Records, Concord Records, First Avenue Records, GRP Records, Jazz Band Records, Jazzed Media, MCA Records, Milan Records, Milestone Records, Origin Records, Panda Digital, Sea Breeze Jazz, Sony Music, Summit, UTV Records, etc.
Associated acts Jazz at Lincoln Center, Harry Connick, Jr., Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Woody Herman, Paul Anka, Liza Minnelli
Website RogerIngram.com

Roger Ingram (born November 13, 1957) is a lead trumpet player, educator, and author. He is best known for being the lead trumpet player on the Jazz at Lincoln Center, Harry Connick, Jr., Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, and Woody Herman big bands. He is also known for his 2008 trumpet textbook, Clinical Notes on Trumpet Playing, his vintage brass mute restorations, the Jupiter XO Series 1600I Ingram model trumpet, and the Ingram line of Bb trumpet mouthpieces.

Early Life

Roger O'Neal Ingram was born November 13, 1957 in St. Luke's Hospital in Pasadena, California, the youngest of three children born to Hazel Ruth Ingram and Walter Edward (Ed) Ingram. His mother Hazel (December 20, 1923 - August 2, 2013) was born in Lamar, Arkansas and his father Ed (August 28, 1903 - March 8, 1992) was born at Niagara Falls, New York.[1][2]

Ingram's mother ran the household and worked as a tailor and dressmaker from their home in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles; his father was a free-lance artist, actor, and musician. Both were instrumental in his musical development. [3]

Roger Ingram's father, Ed, was multi-talented; in addition to being an artist (he worked on the early Popeye cartoons, and several early Disney animations, including "Fantasia,") he had his own radio show in Los Angeles in the 1930s where he sang and played ukulele. During the 1940s and 50's he worked in Hollywood as a singer and actor; he was in more than 30 movies and television series episodes, and can be seen in several classics, including The Joker's Wild, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Superman, This Island Earth, and Titanic.[4] During Roger's childhood, Ed supported the family as a commercial artist. He developed the concept and wrote the pilot for "24 On / 24 Off" which became the popular TV show Emergency![5] Edward loved music in general and jazz in particular; he played many instruments including saxophone and harmonica. He encouraged Roger's interest in music by bringing him to hear the jazz greats of the day, including Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Al Hirt, Buddy Rich, Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden, Kid Ory, Woody Herman, Rafael Méndez, and Teddy Buckner. His father gave Roger his first trumpet and mouthpiece in 1965; the horn is a bare brass trumpet made in American-occupied post-war Japan, the bell is stamped "Koondr, Kailangan Tokyo."[6][7]

Ingram began playing the trumpet at eight. Growing up in Los Angeles, he became acquainted with some of the finest Hollywood session trumpet players of the time. Many of these introductions came through John Rinaldo, his band director at Eagle Rock High School. Mr. Rinaldo spearheaded a very fertile and successful high school jazz program. Besides Ingram, Mr Rinaldo's jazz program produced such great musicians as drummers Carlos Vega and Sam Wiley, bassists Scott Colley and David Stone, guitarist Larry Koonse, saxophonists Doug Rinaldo, Brian Mitchell, and Gary Hypes, trombonists Arturo Velasco and Luis Bonilla, pianist Guy Steiner, and trumpeters Bobby Muzingo and Buddy Gordon. Through Mr. Rinaldo, Ingram was able to meet and study with Bobby Shew and Laroon Holt. Other teachers Roger studied with include Bud Brisbois, Mannie Klein, Roy Stevens, Don Raffell, Bobby Findley, Carmine Caruso, Reynold Schilke, James Stamp, Uan Rasey, Mel Broiles, and Dan Jacobs.[6][3]

Career

At only sixteen, Ingram toured with the great Louie Bellson Big Band, sharing section duties with Blue Mitchell, Bobby Shew, Cat Anderson and Frank Szabo. His first big international gigs were with that esteemed group during the 1974 Belvedere King Size Jazz Festival Tour at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, and the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. After his stint with Bellson, Ingram graduated high school and then joined the Quincy Jones Big Band for a fall tour. Immediately following that tour, at seventeen, he spent a year touring with the Connie Stevens show, playing lead trumpet for the first time with a popular music act.[6]

At eighteen, Ingram played first trumpet with the international pop star Tom Jones, and remained with him for six years.[8] After that, he moved to Las Vegas, where for two years he gained invaluable experience playing production shows and star acts on the world renowned Las Vegas Strip.

In 1985, Ingram joined the famous Woody Herman Orchestra as lead trumpet.[9] Ingram's friend, Ron Stout, held the jazz trumpet chair at that time, and was instrumental in getting him onto the band. Ingram remained with "The Herd" until Herman's death in 1987. He recorded three Grammy nominated albums with the band leader: The 50th Anniversary Tour, Woody's Gold Star, and The Concord Years.[10] Ingram's tenure with Herman's Thundering Herd was a vital developmental period, as he matured into one of the world's preeminent lead trumpet players. Roger Ingram is the last lead trumpeter to play with the true Woody Herman Orchestra.[11]

Ingram returned to his hometown of Los Angeles after Woody's death, founding and co-leading his own big band with saxophonist Steve Elliott. The Ingram-Elliott big band featured talented artists such as Bobby Shew, Till Brönner, Bill Watrous, and Gary Foster.[12] In 1988, Ingram worked with the famous WDR Jazz Orchestra in Cologne, Germany. While in Germany, he recorded works by Bob Brookmeyer and Jim McNeeley, featuring Mel Lewis on drums. During this time, he recorded with saxophonist Loren Schoenberg and pianist/composer Django Bates.[3]

Later that year, Ingram joined the orchestra of one of his trumpet inspirations, Maynard Ferguson, and recorded three albums with the high note legend. In October 2004, Ingram performed as a featured artist at Stratospheric, a four-day festival honoring Maynard. In September 2006, he performed as a featured soloist at The Maynard Ferguson Tribute Concert in St. Louis, Missouri along with many other world class trumpet players, including his long-time friend and colleague Wayne Bergeron.[13] After a total of three years as Maynard's lead trumpeter, Ingram moved to Florida, where he was a teaching assistant and private instructor at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. While in Miami, he collaborated with his friend and colleague, Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, recording the Grammy Award winning album, Danzon.[14] He also did a variety of commercial recording work, performed and toured with the New Xavier Cugat Orchestra, and worked on a consistent basis with the Peter Graves Orchestra.[6]

In 1990, Ingram joined the newly formed big band of singer, pianist, composer, and arranger, Harry Connick, Jr. He recorded three albums with Connick,[15] working with him until the orchestra disbanded in 1993. The following year, Ingram toured with singer Frank Sinatra. Later in 1994, he moved to New York City, joining Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Ingram recorded three albums with Marsalis, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Blood on the Fields.[16]

Ingram left Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1997 to tour and record with the legendary Ray Charles for two years. After touring with singer-songwriter Paul Anka, he joined the re-formed Harry Connick, Jr. big band in 1998 and recorded the Grammy nominated album Come by Me. In April 2000, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) gave that album a Gold Record certification. In the summer of 2001, Ingram did a brief stint touring and playing lead trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra, returning to tour with Connick in November. Among the 18 albums and DVDs that Roger has recorded with Connick, his most noteworthy performances are on Blue Light, Red Light, When My Heart Finds Christmas, the Grammy-winning Songs I Heard, Harry for the Holidays, Thou Shalt Not, Chanson du Vieux Carre, Oh My NOLA and What a Night! A Christmas Album.

While living in New York, Ingram performed in a freelance capacity in more than 20 Broadway productions including Chicago, Grease, Cats, Les Misérables, Play On, and The Producers. In addition, Roger played trumpet for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre and he was the principal trumpet player in the Broadway shows and cast albums of Thou Shalt Not, The Pajama Game, and Harry on Broadway, Act 1.[17][18][19]

From the start of Ingram's career, he has performed at jazz festivals around the world: the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Concord Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Nice, Newport, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Montreal Jazz Festival, and The Rimpelrock Festival. He was a featured artist at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in 2009, the Spring Lake Jazz Fest and Maryland Trumpet Day in 2010, and the Havana Jazz Festival, Columbia Jazz Festival, and Missouri State University Jazz Festival in 2011. He has made appearances at multiple LA Jazz Institute festivals, the Midwest Band Clinic, the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE: disincorporated in 2009), the Jazz Education Network (JEN), the Charles Colin Brass Conference, International Trumpet Guild Conference, and the NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants).

Since 2005, Ingram has been an Artist in Residence of the Music Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. After 4 years of monthly commuting from New York, he moved to La Grange, Illinois in 2008. In addition to teaching, concertizing, and conducting clinics and master classes throughout the world, his busy schedule includes performing, touring, and recording. Over the last decade, a partial list of the groups he has toured, performed, and/or recorded with include Harry Connick, Jr., Paul Anka, the Woody Herman Alumni Orchestra, The Rob Parton Big Band, The Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, and subbed with the Liza Minnelli orchestra. In February 2010, after 36 years, Ingram "retired" from the tour bus and being a sideman. He has now dedicated his life to music education, studio recording, and feature performances.[6]

In August 2008, Roger Ingram's trumpet textbook, Clinical Notes on Trumpet Playing was first published. Ingram's description/goal of the book is in his introduction. "The strategies and exercises discussed in this book are my interpretation and the result of information I've absorbed during my life about music and trumpet playing. This book is also an explanation of how I've taken these concepts (and my own discoveries) and made them work for me. It is my hope that through your application of the data contained within this book you can do the same for yourself, as ultimately, you are your best teacher."[20]

The book was immediately embraced by trumpet players and music educators around the world: it has been sold in over 60 countries, and has been included on the recommended or required reading lists for music programs of universities and conservatories worldwide. As of November 2014 it is in the 22nd printing.[20]

Ingram is one of the most sought after and prolific lead trumpet players of our time. Well known for his dynamic sound and upper register, and feel for swing, Roger's musical legacy is embodied by his respect and regard for artistic integrity. Ingram is considered by Harry Connick, Jr., as well as many others, to be the finest lead trumpet player in the world. His definitive voice and performance mastery undoubtedly place him among the lineage of great lead trumpeters in the history of jazz music.[21]

In 2009, Ingram designed a B♭ trumpet for the Jupiter Band Instrument company. This trumpet is the XO Series 1600I model, known colloquially as the I-horn. Roger plays this trumpet exclusively. He also performs with the Jupiter XO Series professional flugelhorn and the Jupiter XO Series professional 4-valve Bb/A piccolo trumpet (Jupiter 1700RS). Just for fun, Roger plays the Jupiter 528L valve trombone.[3]

Over the course of 2011-2014, Ingram's line of six professional mouthpieces for Bb trumpet (the V-cup, the Lead, the Studio, the Jazz, the Be-Bop, and the Instant Chet) arrived on the market.[22]

On October 31, 2014, Ingram's debut solo recording, "Roger Ingram Live at the College Hideaway," was released on CD and digital download.[23]

Sideman

In a freelance/sideman or session musician capacity, the many artists Roger has performed with include the following: Pepper Adams, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Jay and the Americans, Frankie Avalon, Pearl Bailey, Tex Beneke, Chuck Berry, Bob Brookmeyer, Les Brown, George Burns, Cab Calloway, Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Jack Carter, Ron Carter, Joe Castro, Ray Charles, Doc Cheatham, Cher, Rosemary Clooney, Al Cohn, Natalie Cole, Buddy DeFranco, Dom DeLuise, Harry Sweets Edison, Bill Evans, Fabian, Jon Faddis, Joe Farrell, José Feliciano, Eddie Fisher, The Four Freshmen, The Four Lads, Four Tops, Connie Francis, Annette Funicello, Jackie Gayle, Herb Geller, Stan Getz, Terry Gibbs, Dizzy Gillespie, Edie Gorme, Jimmy Heath, Joey Heatherton, The New Horace Heidt Orchestra, Joe Henderson, Bill Holman, Lena Horne, Milt Jackson, JJ Johnson, Jack Jones, Frankie Lane, Steve Lawrence, Jay Leno, John Lewis, Mel Lewis, Rich Little, Gloria Loring, Henry Mancini, Chuck Mangione, Shelly Manne, Ann-Margret, Rose Marie, Johnny Mathis, Jim McNeely, Carmen McRae, The Mills Brothers, The Modernaires, Jack Montrose, The New Jack Morgan Orchestra, Gerry Mulligan, Anne Murray, Wayne Newton, Helen O'Connell, Anita O'Day, Chico O'Farrill, The O'Jays, Bernadette Peters, Bill Porter, Don Rickles, Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Joan Rivers, Marcus Roberts, Kenny Rogers, Shorty Rogers, Carl Saunders, Doc Severinsen, Bud Shank, Avril Shaw, Jack Sheldon, Bobby Shew, The Silvers, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Zoot Sims, Suzanne Somers, Ira Sullivan, Donna Summer, The Temptations, Toni Tennille, Clark Terry, The Tonight Show Orchestra, Jerry Vale, Frankie Valli, Sarah Vaughn, Slappy White, Margaret Whiting, Joe Williams, John Williams, Al Wilson, Cassandra Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Phil Woods[24][25][6][3]

Personal Life

On April 2nd 2010, Ingram married Victoria Clarke in Brookfield, Illinois. They have two children, Jacqueline Clarke Such and Byron Russell Clarke Winans, and live in the Chicago suburb of La Grange.[3]

He was previously married to Amie Shimmel in 2000; they divorced in 2002. They had no children together. [26] Dr. Shimmel and Roger remain friends, and she is Roger's family's health care provider.

After touring for 36 years with a multitude of celebrated performers, Roger retired from being a sideman in 2010 and has happily adapted to a family lifestyle in the Chicago suburbs where he spends much of his time writing, recording, and teaching privately in his home studio. He gains much pleasure from his involvement with music education and enjoys appearing as a guest soloist and presenting master classes to middle school, high school and college students throughout the school year. [3]

Roger enjoys collecting vintage musical memorabilia which includes rare LP's, print ads, brass instruments, mouthpieces, cases, mutes, retro audio equipment and historic music literature. As a hobby, Roger restores vintage brass instrument mutes for friends and colleagues, and his own personal use. He is regarded by many to be an expert in the field of vintage brass instrument mutes, and is sometimes referred to as "The Mute Meister." [27]

Roger enjoys many spectator sports and is an avid Chicago Blackhawks Hockey fan. [7]He has a policy not to discuss religion or politics in print, in public or with his students. Roger has adopted a holistic approach towards health and preventative medicine through incorporating regular exercise and a diet which includes a daily regime of vitamins and herbal supplements.[6]

Honors


Discography

Filmography

Short Video Performances

References

Footnotes

  1. Birth certificate of Roger O'Neal Ingram
  2. "Major Events" page at RogerIngram.com, accessed 12/13/13
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Philip Biggs, February-April 2012, "Roger Ingram in conversation with Philip Biggs", The Brass Herald Issue 42, pp 28-32
  4. Resume of Walter Edward Ingram
  5. Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles case Walter Edward Ingram vs Jack Webb
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Nick Mondello, Jan 2011, "Roger Ingram, on Swinging, Surviving and Thriving On and Off the Road", ITG Journal, Vol35, No. 2, pp 67-72
  7. 7.0 7.1 Philip Biggs, Dec 2012/Jan 2013, "Roger Ingram in conversation with Philip Biggs", The Brass Herald Issue 46, pp 42-44
  8. Walt Boenig photographs from 1976 South Africa tour
  9. Woody Herman: Chronicles of the Herds By William D Clancy with Audree Coke Kenton, Foreword by Steve Allen, Published by Schirmer Books, Simon & Schuster MacMillan, 1995.
  10. Cadence, Vol 18, Number 2, page 86 By Bob Rusch. Published by B. Rusch, 1992.
  11. The Woodchopper's Ball: The Autobiography of Woody Herman by Woody Herman and Stuart Troup, Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 1994.
  12. Patricia Backhaus, December 1989, "Steve Elliot, Roger Ingram Big Band", ITG Journal, p 17.
  13. The Maynard Ferguson Tribute Concert Program, 2006.
  14. The Authorized Biography of Arturo Sandoval by Cicily Janus, forthcoming publication expected 2010.
  15. Liner notes
  16. 1997 Pulitzer Prize plaque on the wall at Ingram's home
  17. "Theatre World 19901991, Vol. 47" By John Willis, Tom Lynch. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 1992.
  18. "The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 2005-May 2006" By Robert Viagas, Aubrey Reuben, Ben Strothmann. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006.
  19. "The Best Plays Theater Yearbook 20052006" By Jeffrey Eric Jenkins. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Roger Ingram, 2008 Clinical Notes on Trumpet Playing, Forewords by Harry Connick, Jr, Bobby Shew, and Greg Gisbert. One Too Tree Publishing, 2008.
  21. Foreword by Harry Connick, Jr., in Clinical Notes on Trumpet Playing by Roger Ingram, One Too Tree Publishing, 2008.
  22. One Too Tree Publishing and Products
  23. http://rogeringram.com/cds.php
  24. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Roger+Ingram
  25. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/roger-ingram-mn0000082530
  26. Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Docket #2002D011019
  27. http://mutemeister.com/About.html
  28. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/roger-ingram-live-at-college/id935515725

External links