Jon Faddis
b. 24 July 1953, Oakland, California, USA. Faddis began playing trumpet while still a small child and at the age of 11 was introduced by his trumpet teacher, Bill Catalano, to the music of Dizzy Gillespie. At 13 years old Faddis was playing with R&B bands and in mainstream rehearsal big bands and two years later he met Gillespie, sitting in with him at a San Francisco workshop. In 1971 Faddis joined Lionel Hampton, then moved into the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. He was with this band on and off for the next few years, between times playing with Gil Evans, Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus and Gillespie. It was while he was with Gillespie that Faddis first attracted widespread attention. Although he had set out deliberately to build his own playing ability through adherence to Gillespie's style, Faddis had succeeded in creating a style of his own. Nevertheless, he was deeply rooted in bebop and helped give the older man a boost at a time when he was under pressure to adapt to the current popularity of jazz-rock. The concerts and recording dates of the two trumpeters were hugely successful, both musically and commercially, and established a working pattern for Faddis for the next few years. In the early '80s Faddis was heavily committed with studio work but found time for recording sessions and tours with Jimmy Smith, Jackie McLean and McCoy Tyner. In the late '80s he joined Gillespie in a big band for a world tour but was mostly active as leader of his own bands. One of the most striking of post-bop trumpeters, Faddis blends a dazzling technique with a thorough understanding of jazz tradiiton. His clear, bell-like tone, is well-suited to his richly emotional playing and he has earned his place as one of the most gifted and important musicians in jazz.