About

This blog contains mainly archived articles from my former blogs on blogger.

Doug Ramsey from Rifftides about my old blog:

The German trumpeter Bruno Leicht (pictured) has (2007) a blog with the cumbersome name, “Bruno Leicht Presents His Old & New Swingin’ Dreams” (Note: It’s up and running again). He posts at irregular intervals, alternates between German and English and devotes himself more to American jazz from the classic and bebop periods than to what is happening now in Germany. Still, he manages to unearth interesting audio clips and videos and occasionally comes up with anecdotes that make his pages worth a visit.

An example: His encounter with Chet Baker (edited by Bruno Leicht on May 14, 2013).

“The band seemed to be stoned which didn’t seem to bother Chet. He was more worried about his horn which apparently didn’t work properly. There he sat, helplessly pushing the jammed valves, then he eventually grabbed the mike and asked something like: “Some trumpet player around?”

I was seated right in front of him and said: “Yes!” Since the great Chet Baker intended to play on my trumpet, I fetched it from the checkroom and handed it over to him.

He took it, looked at it, and counted: “One, two, three, four!” into a very fast and boppish Conception, George Shearing’s masterpiece, a tune as closely connected to Miles Davis as it was to Chet Baker.

He played it in the key of C, that’s what I remember. After the last note, Chet waved my trumpet over his head, smiled at me in a sardonic way while he was pretending to bung the horn in some corner. I was quite shocked, but of course got the joke in the same second. This was my first real instrument, a Getzen Capri but with a little hole in the middle tube.

What do I remember yet? He played the rest of the concert on his own horn and … kept my valve oil. When I arrived later at home I found it gone. Chet Baker, a thief!”

To check out Bruno Leicht’s blog (…) “you may also stay here.”

(Blog owner’s note: The whole story can be read HERE.)

But first, feel free to listen to this wonderful track: