Cornet à pistons

Part 3

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

The pluralism of the so-called “modern” forms (1945 to the present)

After 1945, bebop, modal jazz and rock reshape trumpet playing, as successive generations develop new approaches to phrasing, improvisation and sound.

By Michel Laplace

Part 2

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

The “Classical” Period 1927-1945 — The Golden Age of the Trumpet

Between Armstrong’s rise and bebop’s arrival, the trumpet became jazz’s dominant voice, reshaping technique, orchestras, sound, mutes and virtuosity.

By Michel Laplace

Harry James (1916-1983)

Young Man With A Horn

Harry James stood between jazz virtuosity and popular showmanship, turning the trumpet into a mass-audience voice without losing the respect of classical players.

By Michel Laplace

Part 5

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

The Arban-Cornet

At 55, Jean-Baptiste Arban sets out to reinvent the cornet and impose it on conservatories. A relentless quest for perfection… ending in failure.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 3

French cornet methods published before Arban's Complete Grand Method for Cornet and Saxhorn

By Friedrich Anzenberger

Part 7

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

Critical Analysis of his Method

Is the Arban method really ideal? This critique reveals its limits—and calls for a rethink of brass pedagogy.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 4

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

The instrument for jazz

Jazz trumpet playing balances equipment, embouchure and articulation, as changing sound ideals reshape mouthpieces, technique and the physical approach to playing.

By Michel Laplace

The Remarkable Story Behind the Cover

A war, a theft, and an unexpected recovery turned one nineteenth-century cornet into a witness to musical memory beyond its craftsmanship and sound.

By Jean-Michel Gauffriau

Part 1

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

His First Twenty Years

First part of a detailed biography of Jean-Baptiste Arban, tracing his early years, studies at the Paris Conservatoire and the beginnings of his career.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 6

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

The Last Years of his Life

Arban and the call for progress: inspired by Saint-Saëns, he makes a final push for a C cornet—an effort that would ultimately fail.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 3

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

The Success

At the height of his fame, Arban fights to reshape musical education—and to save the trumpet from disappearing.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 6

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

Special jazz techniques

Vibrato, half-valves, growls and shakes lead to a larger argument: jazz transformed trumpet technique, yet its contribution remained strikingly undervalued.

By Michel Laplace

The tomb of Jean-Baptiste Arban in Monaco

By Jean-Luc Dassé

Part 3

Herbert L. Clarke (1867-1945)

Early professional years

From struggle to breakthrough: Herbert L. Clarke’s rise reveals relentless practice, early setbacks, and the defining audition that launched one of history’s greatest cornet careers.

By David Hickman

Part 1

A look at the evolution of the valved cornet and its repertoire

By Géry Dumoulin

Keyed and valved bugles, cornets and trumpets in french grand opera

By William E. Runyan

Part 4

Herbert L. Clarke (1867-1945)

His Career

From struggle to legend: Part 4 traces Herbert L. Clarke’s rise from hardship to global fame—touring, recording, teaching, and shaping modern cornet playing.

By David Hickman

Part 2

French cornet methods published before Arban's Complete Grand Method for Cornet and Saxhorn

By Friedrich Anzenberger

Part 2

Jean-Baptiste Arban (1825-1889) Biography

The beginning of his career

Second part of Jean-Baptiste Arban’s biography, covering the early years of his career, his public performances, work with Adolphe Sax and the development of his famous method.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 1

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

Before Louis Armstrong became the defining figure, jazz already carried competing traditions of tone, style and technique shaped by cornet players across New Orleans and beyond.

By Michel Laplace

Part 1

Herbert L. Clarke (1867-1945)

Boyhood Years

From forbidden beginnings to cornet legend: Herbert L. Clarke’s early years reveal a path shaped by setbacks, persistence, and decisive discoveries.

By David Hickman

Part 3

A look at the evolution of the valved cornet and its repertoire

By Géry Dumoulin

Part 2

Herbert L. Clarke (1867-1945)

Crucial Years

From illness and doubt to early triumph: Clarke’s “crucial years” reveal a fragile path—where talent, chance, and setbacks nearly drove a future legend away from music.

By David Hickman

Part 5

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and in Popular Music

Breathing

Breathing, Valsalva, mouthpiece position and daily practice collide with received wisdom as trumpet technique is reconsidered from the body outward.

By Michel Laplace