“
I'm not filled with talent. I'm certainly no genius,” says trumpeter
Nate Wooley (1974) in a self-reflective essay. This is quite a modest view, with respect to his achievements. Because every time he puts the trumpet to his lips, listeners will sit up, whether he plays with John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker or people of his own generation. Wooley wants to redefine the jazz trumpet; he shifts his physical boundaries and wrestles himself free of the historical shadow cast by Louis Armstrong and his style of playing. He does so with a combination of revolutionary playing techniques, an uncompromising sound and amplifying experiments, noise elements and free improv. The trumpeter regularly records hard or free bop music with his band, only to de-construct it skillfully. According to his colleague Dave Douglas, Wooley is
“one of the most interesting and unusual trumpet players living today, and that is without hyperbole.”
