Wayne Bergeron

Wayne Bergeron
Born (1958-01-16) January 16, 1958 (age 66)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Trumpet, flugelhorn
Years active1980–present
Websitewaynebergeron.com

Wayne Bergeron (born January 16, 1958) is an American trumpeter.

Bergeron rose to prominence as a member of Maynard Ferguson's band in the 1980s.[1] Since then, he has worked on over 500 TV and motion picture soundtracks.[1] As a lead and studio player, he is notable both for his ability in the upper register of the instrument (as in his screaming trumpet work in the soundtrack for the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated movie The Incredibles) as well as his versatility (as in his cornet solo on the Final Jeopardy theme).[2]

Bergeron is on faculty at the Los Angeles College of Music[3] and is principal trumpet for the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.[1]

Life and career

[edit]

Bergeron was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Los Angeles. His first instrument was the French horn, but he switched to the trumpet in his early teens.[4]

In 1986, he won the spot of lead trumpeter for Maynard Ferguson's band. He has recorded as a sideman for David Benoit, Rosemary Clooney, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias, and Jack Sheldon; he contributed to the movies Despicable Me, Dreamgirls, Frozen, Rounders, Superman Returns, The Incredibles, and Toy Story 3.[4]

Bergeron has held the role of lead trumpet in Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band since the band was founded and has had two solo charts written for him: "Horn of Puente" from XXL and "Years of Therapy" from Life in the Bubble.[5]

His debut album as a solo musician was You Call This a Living? (2002), featuring the "Friend Like Me" arranged by Bill Liston. The album also features fellow Maynard Ferguson alumnus Peter Erskine on drums and Big Phat Band alumnus Eric Marienthal on saxophone. His next album, Plays Well with Others (2007) received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album features Maynard Ferguson in one of his last performances on the track "Maynard & Waynard".

In 2013, Bergeron designed his own range of trumpet mouthpieces.[6] He was initiated as National Honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity and a Signature Sinfonian at the National Convention in New Orleans in 2015.[7]

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]
  • You Call This a Living? (Wag, 2002)
  • Plays Well with Others (Concord Jazz, 2007)
  • Full Circle (Wayne Bergeron, 2016)
  • "Music and Mistletoe" (Wayne Bergeron and the After Hours Brass, 2012)

As sideman or guest

[edit]

With Bill Elliott

  • Swing Fever (Wayland, 1994)
  • Calling All Jitterbugs! (Wayland, 1997)
  • Swingin' the Century (Wayland, 1999)

With Michael Feinstein

With Maynard Ferguson

  • Body & Soul (BlackHawk, 1986)
  • Big Bop Nouveau (Intima, 1990)
  • Brass Attitude (Concord, 1998)

With Bob Florence

  • Funupsmanship (MAMA, 1993)
  • With All the Bells and Whistles (MAMA, 1995)
  • Earth (MAMA, 1997)
  • Serendipity 18 (MAMA, 1998)
  • Whatever Bubbles Up (Summit, 2003)

With Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

With Tom Kubis

  • Slightly Off the Ground (Sea Breeze, 1989)
  • At Last (Cexton, 1992)
  • It's Not Just for Christmas Anymore! (Cexton, 1995)
  • Fast Cars & Fascinating Women (Sea Breeze, 1996)
  • You Just Can't Have Enough Christmas! (Cexton, 1997)
  • Keep Swingin' (Sea Breeze, 1997)
  • A Jazz Musician's Christmas (Sea Breeze, 2002)
  • Live and Unleashed at Don the Beachcomber (Tom Kubis, 2013)

With John LaBarbera

  • On the Wild Side (Jazz Compass, 2003)
  • Fantazm (Jazz Compass, 2005)
  • Caravan (Jazz Compass, 2013)

With Frank Macchia

  • Animals (Cacophony, 2004)
  • Mo' Animals (Cacophony, 2006)
  • Folk Songs for Jazzers (Cacophony, 2010)
  • Son of Folk Songs for Jazzers (Cacophony, 2010)
  • Frank Macchia's Swamp Thang (Cacophony, 2011)
  • Fried Zombie Stew (Cacophony, 2012)
  • Grease Mechanix (Cacophony, 2013)

With Barry Manilow

With John Powell

  • Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Recall, 2005)
  • Ice Age: The Meltdown (Varese Sarabande, 2006)
  • Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (Varese Sarabande, 2008)

With Chris Walden

  • Home of My Heart (Origin, 2005)
  • No Bounds (Origin, 2006)
  • Full-On! (Origin, 2014)

With Bill Watrous

  • A Time for Love (GNP Crescendo, 1993)
  • Space Available (Double-Time, 1997)
  • Kindred Spirits (Summit, 2006)
  • A Beautiful Friendship (Summit, 2014)

With Robbie Williams

With Ralph Carmichael

With others

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Biography". Wayne Bergeron. Archived from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  2. ^ "Wayne Bergeron Trumpet Interview – The Other Side of the Bell #18". Bob Reeves Brass Mouthpieces. 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  3. ^ "Brass and Woodwind Faculty". Los Angeles College of Music. LACM. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Wayne Bergeron". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  5. ^ Silsbee, Kirk. "Jazz Departments: Wayne Bergeron: Steppin' Out - By Kirk Silsbee — Jazz Articles". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  6. ^ "GR Wayne Bergeron Mouthpieces". Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. ^ "Sinfonia.org". Sinfonia.org. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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