'Music can touch people': Trumpeter in Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra meets with students before Wynton Marsalis performance at The Fox

Oct. 14—A trumpeter with the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra told a group of students of the power of music during an open sound check before a Saturday night performance at the Fox Theater.

"Music is a spirit; it can touch people," Kenny Rampton said.

Led by Wynton Marsalis and based at Lincoln Center in New York City, the band performs a vast repertoire, including rare historic compositions and Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works.

"I've never been to anything this high level for jazz before," said Jesse Hammond, an eighth-grader from Spokane Classical Christian School who plays piano and drums.

Rampton fielded questions from Whitworth University students and middle and high school students in the All-City Jazz Ensemble.

"This band is the zenith of my career," said Rampton, who has played with the orchestra full time since 2010. His trumpet can also be heard on "Sesame Street."

He said every day he plays with the group is a lesson, and that's what life is about: learning and growing.

Rampton grew up in Las Vegas, where his parents were both musicians. He was inspired to pursue music from an early age and learned to read sheet music when he was 3 or 4, though he didn't start playing trumpet until he was 11.

"I didn't see any other path," he said.

Music is serious fun, and his advice is to never forget that. Too many professional musicians do, but there is no reason to get bored.

The discipline of learning an instrument teaches one to be a better person, he said.

"I just want to say thank you so much for what your band does; you guys have inspired me since I was in fifth grade," said Teghan Bright, an 11th-grader at Mead High School who plays alto saxophone. She asked Rampton how she can use emotion to enhance her playing for a better story, without making it sound like noodling.

Rampton answered by playing a few notes, first by rote, then with soul.

He said music should never be just going through the motions.

"You are making a difference in other people's lives. That's the beauty of music; it's about making other people feel better."

James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.