One other thing...

Don't discount the idea that if you are recording in your bedroom or basement there will likely be a lot of low frequency resonance in the room... it can sound muddy and dull just because the room is full of to much bass.

The point being, try what seems like an aggressive low cut and listen to see if, as you sweep up the frequency range and cut more and more lows, that the trumpet seems brighter simply by removing the low end resonance of the room.

I point this out because you may find, without the low cut, that stuff actually sounds swamped with bass while you are interpreting it as not bright enough.





Some may explain that the easiest way to reduce the capture of unwanted low frequency room resonance is to use a very close mic position.

That is true, but as you move a cardioid mic towards the primary sound source you will boost bass response as proximity effect.


Either way you may have a whole bunch of low frequency energy that isn't helpful. 

So, consider a low cut and try it a little more aggressively than you might think is ok. Give it a try. See if it helps get you what you want to hear.



best regards,
mike


 

Wynton Marsalis is an exception. He is someone who fits into both of those roles very well but it is not the norm. It is silly to bring him up as he is one in a million. 

So yes I am going to remain stereo typed and say again many classical musicians are not so great at other styles and visa versa. In my experiences anyway.

And while you are mentioning famous people Mike I have worked with Wynton myself. In the late 80's (or 90's can't quite remember) he came to Australia and Canberra where I was studying Jazz. The drummer only played Sonor Rosewood drums and I was the only one who had that kit. I was also in charge of the live sound that day too. He just wanted a dynamic mic on the end of a stand and he stood directly in front of it and pointed right at the mic. Yes, perfect trumpet sound out front!  But you see when it is Wynton that is playing it sort of does not matter how the instrument is miked up because the music and the playing seriously overshadowed any technical stuff or PA involved.

I met the band after too and it was very interesting. Most of them have all been taught by Wynton's father Ellis. The drummer played in 5 a lot of the time while the rest of the ensemble were in there time sigs. Drummer told me it makes the drums sound way cool but you still have to know where the top of every chorus is though! That drummer was not Wynton's normal drummer either but Ahmad Jamal's drummer. (not Vernell Fournier though)
He brought that amazing blind piano player on that tour too.  

To the OP Mike's tip re using bass cut is a good one too and a better option to try first than my suggestion of treble boost. It is always better to cut something first to see what results and in this case bass cut is an excellent idea. Even small amounts of bass cut can result in mids and highs sounding boosted all without any boosting being applied. But even so a tiny amount of treble boost in conjunction with some bass cut might just be the ticket too. Experiment.

"Wynton Marsalis is an exception."


:-)


I think the thing that I find most exceptional about Mr. Marsalis is that he drags around, and invites in, as many players of his caliber as he can locate.


He's never been afraid to let other folks shine on his sessions, and so in my experience when I worked for him, there were always 15 - 30 killer players that would be gathered together pushing each other further.


The most remarkable thing about Mr. Marsalis is that he his more interested in seeing music and musicians infuse our world with goodness  than trying to appear exceptional.

He is part of a large community of exceptional musicians. 




all the best,
mike

"He brought that amazing blind piano player on that tour too."




Mr. Marcus Roberts. We were in the same university freshman class. I was there the very night that Mr. Marsalis met Mr. Roberts. Mr. Roberts took an extended solo and the audacity of it amused Mr. Marsalis.


Mr. Roberts left school and abruptly hit the road with the band the next morning. He eventually recorded a bunch of successful Jazz albums in a basement here on Monroe Street. He came back 25 years later and was awarded an honorary degree at the School of Music and became a professor at the school.


Every year more exceptional musicians show up at the Schools here in town. Some never leave, and the talent pool just gets deeper and deeper.


all the best,
mike

Thanks Mike for reminding me of Marcus Roberts. I was racking my brain trying to remember his name. I was even researching it for a while but failed to find out who he was initially. I am sure Wynton has had a few piano players in his ensemble!

There was another thread on different drummers producing different sounds on the same drum kit. I was on the side of definitely yes depending on the dynamics involved etc. This was one of those examples. The drummer who was using my Sonor kit (just figured that out too it was Herlin Riley) produced a different sound to me as well and I never have forgotten that either.

That was one amazing Jazz ensemble. What I also was impressed by was before the start of each tune there was total silence and each band member knew exactly what the upcoming tempo was. There were no count-ins either. Wynton just held his trumpet up a little higher than normal and dropped the end of his bell down and that exact moment the ensemble was often instantly into the groove at the exact tempo.

Something many bands should learn the art of. Not making a single sound in between songs. Only create sound for the music being played. No count-ins either just really know the tempo and start in perfect time on some visual cue. We have to do this in the tribute show. Count-ins are sloppy and don't sound good. We rehearsed the Elvis part last week and it went well. Very slick. In two weeks we do the Cash stuff. After that the Orbison set. I am very fortunate. The musicians are of a very high calibre and can play so well.