This episode of The Breakdown is for the trumpet players. SFJAZZ Collective trumpeter Mike Rodriguez takes a range of musicians through his techniques for strengthening facility throughout the range of the instrument, specifically on the high notes. He focuses on embouchure, breath control, various exercises that have helped him in his development as a world-class artist, and more. Trumpet players include Mike Olmos, Lucas Davis, Abigail Hogg, and Cameron Wall. To conclude, Mike Rodrigues and Mike Olmos play a duet.

ABOUT MIKE RODRIGUEZ

A GRAMMY-winning trumpeter and composer hailing from Queens, New York, Rodriguez was inspired to pursue music by his father, drummer Roberto Rodriguez, and came up through the music programs at the University of Miami and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at the New School in Manhattan.

He’s worked alongside Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, and Chico O’Farrill, and has had lengthy associations with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Chick Corea, with whom he won a GRAMMY as part of his Spanish Heart Band.

Rodriguez has recorded four albums with his pianist brother Robert and a pair of releases as a leader including his latest, 2021’s Pathways. He is currently on the faculty at NYU and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He joined the SFJAZZ Collective in 2022.