Another great video of Rafael Mendez. This time an excerpt from his video special entitled "The Trumpet." This is the first song he plays on the special. I have the whole thing so I'll be uploading it all in parts.
No saben que orgulloso me siento en este momento. Soy Mexicano y actualmente estoy sumamente deprimido y avergonzado de serlo, nuestro gobierno es horrible. Pero este video me hizo recordar que los Mexicanos sí podemos hacer bien las cosas. ¡Cómo me hubiera gustado haber vivido en ese México de ensueño!
Moto Perpetuo was actually 8 sections Mendez edited into 1. He could play it in one take legato, but he didn't think it would be effective. He told me this in 1977. I saw him play the finale to Carnival in Venice with ONE finger in 1974. No one will ever match his abilities.
Our band director brought him to our high school in 1966-67. He worked with our school orchestra for a few days and I got to share the stage with the great man. His attention to detail was what I came away with from that experience.
I know this has been said before, but it's worth repeating. It's too damn bad this incomparable virtuoso lived when recording technology was in its infancy.
Maestro Rafael Mendez, Donde quiera que te encuentres debes saber que mexico te admira y que eres una gran inspiracion para todos los musicos mexicanos. Tu virtuosismo nos hace creer que no hay limites.
Let's make sure we are clear about it -- this man is without question (not even close) thee GREATEST trumpet player who ever walked on this earth. If there is any doubt listen to him playing MOTO PERPETUO - over 5 minutes of triple tonguing thousands of notes perfectly (of course) while, at the same time circular breathing. No breath marks can be detected.
Raphael Mendez was the first the first classical trumpeter I ever heard and his handling of Scherzo in D minor is to me, Mendez at his most beautiful... And the reason I took up the instrument. Thank you Zooter1940s for all of your remarkable videos.
His lips were damaged because of two accidentes, not because of an incorrect embouchure. In fact, there is no "correct" embouchure. There is a suggested type of embouchure, but not a correct one because everyone's face is structured differently. You cannot have one uniform embouchure type because everyone has a different anatomy. But yes, there is a recommended/suggested embouchure.
You are all insane to think this is dubbed! You must just have a bad internet connection. It is perfect from where I'm sitting, and would be physically impossible to synch the faster passages exactly along with the fingering in the video. They are perfectly together in what I've watched. Thank you so much Zooter for sharing all of these. Rafael is a GOD where musicians are concerned.
I wish I could heard him live. I think that most of his recording do not capture his real sound. It would had being a so much a greater experience to heard him live. Incredible!!!
@RafaelSatchmo After that comment, I'm taking your side. There can be no argument that Rafael Mendez had such unbelievable command of his axe; 'though he was not a jazz musician, he could have created anything on the spot he wanted and play it flawlessly. So, yeah, come to think of it, classical musicians of a couple hundred years ago improvised all the time - like Mozart - as that was the music of the day and improv or new compositions on the spot were probably more commonplace than today.
I'm a bassoon player so I wouldn't know much but this is truly impressive!! anyway I find this sound so "50s" I mean the style.. Nowadays people tend to play more dolce..
Laugh though you might, besides running one of the best horn bands in the business, Severson at his peak was a classical powerhouse with astounding articulation and technical flair. His lip slurs were second to none. Mendez is a trumpet god, no doubt, but even he would acknowledge other great players with humility, I am sure.
What I like, besides his obvious mastery of the horn, is the ease in which he plays it. He's got a big sound and you know he had hours and hours and hours of chops.
mendez is one of my first and favourite idols, but im sorry to tell you guys this... he is miming on this video. it was a studio recording on top and he is just playing along without blowing in his horn..there is another clip on here with his 2 sons notice the sound is the same
articulation and sound are very close to the technque of the cornet (which had disapeared from the music scene at least 30 years before that recording). he was a witness of an extint style. great document !
@trumpsahead @trumpsahead You've never heard Mendez improvise. His recording of "I Know that You Know" with his Mendez All Stars Big Band showcases his ability to improvise. Nothing short of incredible. And not a missed note. He just had complete mastery of the horn. Miles Davis would crack a note and call it part of the experience. Mendez didn't crack notes, or miss one, when he improvised in jazz (at least on the recordings I've heard).
@RafaelSatchmo Hi, I listened to "I Know..." played by Mendez and Orchestra. Yes, fantastic performance. I don't question his virtuosity btw, I think he was by far the greatest trumpet virtuoso that ever lived. I would call "I Know..." an "arrangement" but not necessarily an "improvisation" unless you know for a fact that he was improvising. Most big band songs are arranged or at least the improv is very rehearsed so there are no surprises. I'm gonna learn Virgen de la Macarena I just heard.
@trumpsahead You're right to a degree. But most jazz folks have worked out their riffs and so on ahead of time; just listen to their different recordings of the same piece. The comment by one musician associated with Mendez in the 1940s and 50s is that he DID improvise on the spot in many of his concerts. And up until the mid-1960s, he performed upwards of 120 concerts in six months each year. Yes he stands at the top of all trumpeters. I've been working on "Virgen..." for years. Maybe next year
True, Louis Armstrong was not a classically trained player. his instrument was the Coronet, and he came to play from a whole different perspective. Rafael is clearly a master of the European style of music, where louis is a master of the only true American music form, Jazz. But belive it or not, in Mendez' playing, I can hear a touch of the Mariachi
maybe that's more what people thought of in his later years but Armstrong got his rep as the best trumpet player in New Orleans and later in various bands like King Oliver's and then his own recordings with Hot 5's & 7's.
You must have stopped it before 1:37. It is lyrical from 1:37 - 3:40. Mendez was a wizard and this is one of the things he did. He could also play gorgeous lyrical lines. He is one of if not the most respected trumpet player that ever lived.
I'm giving Vizutti plenty of credit. I've seen the guy play and he's phenomenal, a technical freak. Real nice guy too. Nonetheless, I still don't think he's in quite the same league as Mendez.
@JackyWhiite Mendez is clearly a great performer, a virtuoso, a fantastic technical trumpet wizard, what else can I say, truly a great artist and entertainer, a legend. The label "musician" is too general; he plays music, he's a musician. Sorry I posted the earlier post, it was hasty. It's just that when you play a song hundreds of times every note the same as the first time you can lose the creative inspiration. I'd rather be a great improviser than a great technician. See what Yehudi said.
They are difficult for completely different reasons. Moto is difficult because you have to circular breathe. Carnival is difficult due to the myriad of techniques involved.
Mendez is an unsurpassed virtuoso. Such a terrible pity the recording tech back then was so primitive compared to today: we are not hearing his true sound. From others before me who knew him personally, his sound was on the bright side with a touch of mariachi - most unique. Also, a pity he did not pass on his breathing technique to more disciples, for this technique seems almost to be lost to history.
@Nabokov50 The recording totally RUINS the awesomeness of the performance. But even with the crappy recording, you can FULLY recognize the level of mastery of the instrument. Hearing him play just makes myself want to quit playing and study harder altogether!
Yeah man I didn't mean that as an insult. I'd give one of my testes to be able to do what Vizutti does. I'd just give them both to play the way Mendez does. Wait, no.
How can you possibly say this guy is not a true "musician" just because he isn't much of an improviser like the others you mention. Might as well say Jascha Heifetz wasn't a true musician.
The recording and amplification technology was horrible back then. One wonders what he actually sounded like. The accompaniment is very poorly (if at all) mixed and his playing is given no acoustical embellishment or help.
