Home » Jazz Musicians » Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ten. As a child prodigy, by the age of 12 Wallace became the youngest member of the Philadelphia brass ensemble which was comprised of members of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
During his affiliation with the brass ensemble Wallace met jazz great Clark Terry who became a major influence, teacher, mentor and friend. Clark Terry taught him more about the trumpet than previous classical trumpet teachers had. He taught him technique, articulation and breath control. Clark Terry was the first of Wallace's three greatest mentors.
Wallace's moved to Washington, DC where he attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. While at Ellington he studied the trumpet with Langston Fitzgerald, trumpeter with the Baltimore Symphony. Fitz, as he was fondly called by Wallace, taught him to strive for excellence in spite of obstacles.
Wallace sat in with Art Blakey's band at the age of 15 and was offered the job to replace trumpeter Bill Hardman. A car accident that happened the day after he was offered the gig caused Wallace's father not to let him take the job. Wallace did, however, continue to sit in with a lot of great musicians including Cedar Walton, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins all of which led to Wallace playing several gigs with Cedar Walton.
At the age of 16 he met another trumpet player who would become the second greatest influence in his musical life, Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy taught Wallace even more advanced techniques that enhanced his ability to play intricate improvisational phrases. During this time he also went to NY and sat in with the great Philly Joe Jones which caused a stir. It wasn't long before he met the great trumpet player Woody Shaw who also became a close friend and mentor. During this time, Wallace graduated from Ellington and began studying with Dr. Donald Reinhart, a world renowned brass specialist in the Brass community, while at the same time attending Howard University and studying with Fred Irby. Wallace remained at Howard University for a year only to be called away to become a member of Art Blakey's Big Band. He also played with Joe Henderson, Dollar Brand and then studied for a year at Berkele School of Music before leaving there to rejoin Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
Read moreTags
M. E. B.: That You Not Dare To Forget
by Doug Collette
With all due respect to Lettuce's A Tribute to Miles Davis--Witches Stew (Self Produced, 2017) and the all-star ensemble dubbed Bitches Brew Revisited, M.E.B. (formerly known as Miles Electric Band) is an inordinately creative homage to Miles Davis. And given the continually experimental path The “Man With The Horn" chose to follow throughout his career, it is no doubt one of which he would approve. That You Not Dare To Forget is a slightly less than half-hour audio ...
read moreWallace Roney: Understanding
by John Kelman
With the concept of mentoring an increasingly forgotten part of how young, up-and-coming musicians cut their teeth--learning from older, more experienced musicians before heading out into the world as leaders--the jazz world needs more people like Wallace Roney. One look at every record the trumpeter has made since signing with HighNote in 2004, with Prototype the first of seven albums culminating in the album you're now holding in your hands, and it's clear that Roney takes the concept of mentoring ...
read moreHomage and Acknowledgment: A Conversation with Wallace Roney
by Stanley Péan
From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in September 2001. The following conversation took place in Wallace Roney's room at Wyndham Hotel in downtown Montreal on Sunday, July 8th 2001, the day after he performed Miles and Miles: A Musical Journey, his tribute commemorating both the seventy-fifth anniversary of Miles' birth and the tenth anniversary of his death.1 Myriam Achard, Montreal Jazz Fest's lovely press agent, escorted me to his door.
read moreOz Noy: Snapdragon
by Mike Jacobs
It's an old sentiment but it still holds that great instrumental chops, enthralling as they may be, are fairly meaningless on their own. And quite frankly, they are pretty ubiquitous these days with the internet exposure machine going full tilt. Given all that, it's quite easy for the listener to become inured with technical prowess-- especially wizardry of the fretboard. So to say Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist just isn't enough anymore. It's fortunate then that what ...
read moreRemembering Wallace and Manu
by Bob Osborne
On this show we pay tribute to the recently departed Wallace Roney and Manu Dibango. There's a couple of tracks from Manu and selection of highlights from Wallace picking up on work associated with his mentor Miles Davis. I also feature the recent album from guitarist Tomas Janzon in a great quartet, and there's also the intriguing Schapiro17 with their fascinating re-working of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue into big band arrangements. There's a dip in ...
read moreWallace Roney: What’s Going on Today
by Kevin Press
Trumpeter Wallace Roney has come a long way since his days as a Miles Davis mentee. The young man who earned the Down Beat Award for Best Young Jazz Musician of the Year in both 1979 and 1980 is now a seasoned veteran with 22 band-leader recordings to his credit. During his career, Roney has played with Davis, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Chick Corea and a long list of others.
read moreWallace Roney and His Mission to Record and Perform Wayne Shorter's Long-Lost "Universe"
by R.J. DeLuke
Wayne Shorter is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest composers in the history of jazz, which is the history of American music. His compositions are played by instrumentalists in cramped and crowded nightclubs wherever on earth jazz music is performed. It's hard to imagine a jazz festival where at least few of his works don't cascade upon the ears at some point. Vocalists have added lyrics to some of his songs so they, too, can get involved in their ...
read moreJazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
Wallace Roney is from Philadelphia, PA, born May 25, 1960. He began his musical studies at the age of five, learning rhythmic dictation and sight-reading. He began playing the trumpet at age six. He was identified as a prodigy and was awarded a scholarship to the Settlement School of Music at the age of seven. It is there that Wallace received private trumpet lesson with Sigmund Herring at the age of ...
read more
In Touch Entertainment Adds Ten New Artists To Its Roster
Source:
Charles Carlini Presents
NYC-based In Touch Entertainment has signed several new musicians to its roster of world-renowned artists The new pool of talent includes Cuban artists Rey Cabrera, Jorge Chicoy and Xiomara Laugart; jazz guitarist Fareed Haque; trumpeter Wallace Roney; vocalists Lauren Kinhan, Fleurine, Maria Alejandra Rodriguez and Nancy Harms, as well as trumpeter/vocalist Bob Merrill. “We are very pleased to have these gifted artists as part of our organization," said In Touch's CEO, Charles Carlini. “Each of them has a unique talent ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
At a time when much of the Jazz world seems content to simply attempt to recreate the past, trumpeter/composer Wallace Roney follows the true Jazz tradition of utilizing the past to move forward. This has resulted in acknowledgment by the public and his peers with his receipt of three Grammy Awards and numerous nominations for projects in which he was the featured performer and/or collaborator... Read more.
Place our Musician of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today!
At a time when much of the Jazz world seems content to simply attempt to recreate the past, trumpeter/composer Wallace Roney follows the true Jazz tradition of utilizing the past to move forward. This has resulted in acknowledgment by the public and his peers with his receipt of three Grammy Awards and numerous nominations for projects in which he was the featured performer and/or collaborator... Read more.
Place our Musician of ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Wallace Roney
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Wallace Roney's birthday today! At a time when much of the Jazz world seems content to simply attempt to recreate the past, trumpeter/composer Wallace Roney follows the true Jazz tradition of utilizing the past to move forward. This has resulted in acknowledgment by the public and his peers with his receipt of three Grammy Awards and numerous nominations for projects in which he was the featured performer and/or collaborator... Read more. Place our Musician of ...
read more
Satish Robertson
trumpet
Chris Coluzzi
drumsPhotos
Music
Videos
Similar
Roy Hargrove
trumpet
Wynton Marsalis
trumpet
Herbie Hancock
piano
Oscar Peterson
piano
Dave Holland
bass
Freddie Hubbard
trumpet
Sonny Stitt
saxophone
Abbey Lincoln
vocals
Terence Blanchard
trumpet
Houston Person
saxophone, tenor
Branford Marsalis
saxophone
Woody Shaw
trumpet
Sonny Criss
saxophone, alto
Russell Gunn
trumpet
Jimmy Ponder
guitar
Olu Dara
trumpet
Wallace Roney
Instrument: Trumpet
Born: May 25, 1960
Died: March 31, 2020
