Allen Vizzutti, trumpet

Equally at home in a multitude of musical idioms, Allen Vizzutti has visited 35 countries and every state in the union to perform with a rainbow of artists and ensembles, including Chick Corea, Doc Severinsen, The NBC Tonight Show Band, the Airmen of Note, the Army Blues, Chuck Mangione, Woody Herman, Japan’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Performing as a classical and a jazz artist, often in the same evening, Vizzutti has appeared as a guest soloist with symphony orchestras in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the United States, and his performances have been broadcast on national television in Germany, Poland, England, Sweden, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and the United States. He has performed as a soloist at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, Banff Center for the Performing Arts, Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Charles Ives Center, Lincoln Center, and the Teton, Breckenridge, Vail, and Aspen Music Festivals.

He has many solo jazz and classical recordings on Summit Records, DeHaske/Hal Leonard Recordings, Sony, and Ludwig Music Publishing, include “The Emerald Concerto and Other Gems” with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and “High Class Brass,” a unique classical and jazz blend co-produced, written, and performed with fellow trumpet artist, conductor, and composer Jeff Tyzik and a 90-piece studio orchestra.

Vizzutti is professor of trumpet at the University of Washington School of Music. As Artist in Residence, he has taught at the Eastman School of Music, the Banff Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas State University, West Texas State University, the Skidmore Jazz Institute, and the Trompeten Akademie of Bremen, Germany. His long-standing commitment to education and the value of music in everyday life is reflected in extensive guest appearances at universities throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Vizzutti’s extensive treatise, The Allen Vizzutti Trumpet Method, and his New Concepts for Trumpet (published by Alfred Music) have become standard works for trumpet study worldwide. Many more of his jazz and classical books, “play-along” recordings, student pieces, chamber music, and recital compositions have been published by Alfred, Southern Music Company, and DeHaske/Hal Leonard Publications. He wrote, performed, and produced an educational video, “Steps to Excellence,” for Yamaha Corporation of America. Vizzutti is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

His compositions have been premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Tonight Show Band, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (London), London Symphony, the United States Navy Band, and the Summit Brass.

Vizzutti has performed on more than 100 motion picture sound tracks, including “Back to the Future” and “Star Trek,” as well as countless TV shows, commercials, and recordings with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Chick Corea, The Commodores,and Prince.

While growing up in Montana, Vizzutti was instructed in trumpet by his father, a self-taught musician and trumpet player, until he left home to attend the Eastman School of Music. There he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, a Performer’s Certificate, a chair in the Eastman Brass Quintet faculty ensemble, and the only Artist’s Diploma ever awarded a wind, brass, or percussion player in Eastman’s history.

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