The Other Side Of The Bell - A Trumpet Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpeter, vocalist, composer and percussionist Pete Rodriguez, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Pete Rodriguez trumpet interview"

About Pete Rodriguez:

Trumpeter, vocalist, and percussionist Pete Rodríguez carries the bloodline of Nuyorican salsa as he takes his unique brand of jazz to exciting new places.

Son of salsa singer Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez and godson of Fania Records bandleader Johnny Pacheco, Rodríguez cut his teeth playing with some of the greatest names in Latin music.

By age 19, he was musical director of his father's band. As a vocalist, he sang on Tito Puente's Grammy-award winning Mambo Birdland. As an instrumentalist, he's appeared with legends including Celia Cruz, Chico O'Farrill, Bebo Valdez and Eddie Palmieri, including performing on the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project's Grammy-winning release, Simpatico.

As a bandleader, Rodriguez draws on his diverse upbringing—including living through the birth of Hip Hop in the Bronx and becoming an accomplished classical trumpeter during his adolescence in Puerto Rico—to create his own brand of jazz that defies categorization.

The result is music that has been praised as "not only instrumentally ferocious, but texturally rich and at times profoundly intimate," with compositions "rich in musical depth, tone and beauty, as well as rhythm and melody… giving his music an appeal beyond genres." (Downbeat).

His music demonstrates his aptitude for hard-driving, modern post-bop jazz, as much as melodic Latin variants and R&B-tinged grooves.

Rodriguez has released a series of acclaimed albums as a leader, including Mind Trip, The Alchemist, Caminando con Papi (Destiny Records), El Conde Negro (Destiny Records), Obstacles (Sunnyside Records), and his most recent, I'm Pete Rodríguez, Vol. 1 (Sunnyside Records), named one of the Best of 2024 by the New York City Jazz Record.

His forthcoming I'm Pete Rodríguez, Vol. 2 continues his exploration of identity, resilience, and innovation.

"As a bandleader he's working on a clean, complex and flexible model of modern Latin jazz … his compositions change shape and character, according to the free flow of the arrangements, among art song and swing and clave. Draped over all of it is Mr. Rodriguez's powerful playing, soft-toned but battling." – The New York Times

Episode Links:

• peterodriguezmusic.com
• Pete on Instagram (@prodriguezmusic)
• on YouTube (@peterodriguezmusic)
• on Facebook (@prodriguezmusic)

Upcoming Events:

• Greg Black Mouthpieces, November 7 & 8
  
  
• North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, November 9 & 10
  Book your alignment here!
  

Podcast Credits:

• "A Room with a View" - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Cover Photo Credit - Pete Rodriguez
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpet performer and recording artist Dave Adewumi, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Dave Adewumi trumpet interview"

About Dave Adewumi:

Dave Adewumi is a trumpet player and composer recognized as one of the leading new voices in jazz.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory and The Juilliard School, he went on to win 1st place at the 2019 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition, the 2024 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award and Gregory Morris Composing Fellowship, and in 2025 received the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship.

Adewumi has been voted a "Rising Star" in the DownBeat Critics Poll and has performed on some of the world's most celebrated stages, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

 His collaborations span a wide spectrum of artists, from Harry Connick Jr., Raye and Busta Rhymes, to Mary Halvorson, Jason Moran, Ingrid Laubrock and Dave Douglas.

Episode Links:

• Dave Adewumi website: daveadewumimusic.com
• Dave on Instagram (@str8outdawumi)
• Altus Band on Instagram (@altus.band)
• Altus Band website: altus.band

Upcoming Events:

• Greg Black Mouthpieces, November 7 & 8
  
  
• North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, November 9 & 10
  Book your alignment here!
  

Podcast Credits:

• "A Room with a View" - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Cover Photo Credit - Dave Adewumi
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpet performer, teacher and internet sensation Eric Baker, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass.

This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here:

"Eric Baker trumpet interview"

About Eric Baker:

Eric Baker grew up in Ft. Worth, TX, and began playing the trumpet at age 11. He received his B.M. in Music Education from the University of Texas at Arlington and earned his master's degree in Trumpet Performance from Arizona State University. 

Mr. Baker moved to Odessa, TX in 2006 to begin his tenure as Co-Principal trumpet with the West Texas Symphony. He has also performed with the Big Spring Symphony, San Angelo Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, the Legend Brass Quintet, the West Texas Trumpet Workshop, and the Salt River Brass Band.

Eric performs regularly with the Lone Star Brass Quintet, Current Nine, The Pinstripes Jazz Quartet, and Emily & the Rhumba Kings. He performed with the touring production of the hit Broadway musical Chicago and has performed on stage with The Temptations, The Four Tops, Mannheim Steamroller, and Marie Osmond. 

He freelances all over West Texas and is a highly sought-after performer and private teacher. He is a founding member of the "Lone Star State" chapter of the International Trumpet Guild.
He is the Director of Community Engagement for Music and Visual Arts at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He also serves as President of the West Texas Jazz Society.

Eric's wife, Emily, is the director of the Voices of the Permian Basin. They have three daughters, Piper, Keller, and Harper.

• Website: West Texas Symphony
  
  
• Trumpets Mic'd Up on Instagram (@ebtrumpet)
  
  
• Trumpets Mic'd Up on TikTok (@eb_trumpet)
  
  
• William Adam Trumpet Festival, June 19-22, Clarksville, Tennessee.
  williamadamtrumpet.com  Sign up sheet for valve alignments: bobreeves.com/williamadam

Podcast Credits:

• "A Room with a View" - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Cover Art - courtesy of Eric Baker
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg

Rashawn Ross, trumpet with The Dave Matthews Band, is our special guest this episode. Rashawn shares is experience growing up on the small Caribbean island of St. Thomas, then expanding his travels to now include world tours with Dave Matthews. The show notes for this episode can be found at www.bobreeves.com/44.

This episodes features trumpeter Jeff Purtle, who is the author of Hit it Hard & Wish it Well and is best known for being a protégé of and authority on Claude Gordon. He has also written for The Brass Herald magazine, the ITG, and has been cited in various doctoral thesis. Jeff's students are from all walks of life and consist of professional musicians, amateurs, college students and younger, all sharing the common goal of getting the most from their practice. In 2004 Jeff became a pioneer in teaching online. Jeff's private studio reaches students from six continents weekly. Jeff was adjunct professor at Clemson University for five years and is currently at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. Learn more about Jeff at www.purtle.com. The show notes for this episode can be found at www.bobreeves.com/43.

Jazz trumpet artist Gianni Marinucci is our special guest on this episode. Gianni has four albums out as leader and is featured on many others. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he has toured many parts of the world including Hong Kong, Thailand, Europe, and most recently, the U.S. where he was a featured performer at the annual International Trumpet Guild Conference. Gianni is a Temby trumpet artist. For more information, visit the show notes for this episode at www.bobreeves.com/42.

Frank van der Poel, former solo trumpeter of the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy for 31 years and author of the trumpet method book "Less is More", is our special guest on this episode. Frank discusses his long career as a professional trumpet player working in all genres of music as well as his cathartic embouchure collapse that almost ended his career. Learn more about Frank at https://www.frankvanderpoelmusic.nl/. The show notes for this episode are at www.bobreeves.com

Michael Sachs, principal trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra, is our special guest this episode. Michael discusses his prolific career as a soloist, orchestral trumpeter, and educator. The show notes for this episode can be found at www.bobreeves.com/40.

Arturo Sandoval is our special guest on this episode of The Other Side of the Bell. Sandoval is one of the most dynamic and vivacious live performers of our time, and has been seen by millions at the Oscars, Grammy's, and the Billboard Awards. Learn more about Arturo Sandoval at www.arturosandoval.com and ASI at www.arturosandovalinstitute.org. The show notes for this episode are at www.bobreeves.com/39. 

Trumpet player Howie Shear is our special guest on this episode of The Other Side of the Bell. Howie talks about his diverse career, from playing lead trumpet with Woody Herman's Big Band to his solo jazz work, to arranging and composing. Howie also discusses his two jazz improvisation books - Bebop Vocabulary and Jazz Improvisation - Simplified. The show notes for this episode are at www.bobreeves.com/38