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"...genius" - Hilton Ruiz
"a very special talent" - Lester Bowie
"the best trumpet player on the planet" - Nile Rodgers
Biography
Mac Gollehon: Performer and Composer
Born and raised in Virginia, Mac began his musical career with sawdust in his
shoes, when, at twelve, he played 1" trumpet for the circus, soon followed
by teenage years performing with an array of bands and playing 1" trumpet
with the Roanoke Symphony. After graduating from the Berklee School of Music
in Boston, Mac went on the road with the big band circuit, playing with such
greats as Buddy Rich, Buddy Morrow, Stan Kenton, and others.
New York beckoned the young trumpeter whose flawless intonation and range had
caught the attention of recording producers like Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards,
Bill Lasewell, Arthur Baker, Arif Mardin, and Rick Derringer. Their albums smoked
their way to the charts with Mac's fiery horn as Steve Winwood, Arrow, Laurie
Anderson, Power Station, Mick Jagger, and many others signed him on time and
again for more than 1000 recordings and more than 75 solos on Top-Forty singIes.
In the world of screaming guitars, synths, and samplers, Mac Gollehon's trumpet
rules; his solos can be heard all over the airwaves. Listen for his solos on
David Bowie's Let's Dance, Jagger and Bowie's Dancin' the Street, Grace Jones's
Inside Story, Duran Duran's Notorious, Billy Ocean's Get Out Of My Dreams, and
on "Coming to America," Eddie Murphy's film soundtrack. He is arguably
today's most recorded trumpet player.
As a master of Latin, calypso, country, rock, and jazz, Hilton Ruiz has christened
the versatile player "genius"; Lester Bowie describes him as "a
special talent,"and Nile Rodgers nicknamed him "the best trumpet player
on the planet." After he shared the concert stage with Jon Faddis, Lew
Soloff, Randy Brecker, and others, Brass Player s critic wrote: "Playing
straight ahead jazz in the company of our most prominent jazzers, Mac more than
held his own he left- them awe-struck."
For years, fans around the world have cheered his talent front-lining for Chic,
Blondie, Duran Duran, and Sheena Easton, to mention only a few. In fact, on
any given week, Mac can be found Iaying down tracks for Onyx, Kenny Barron,
Ric Ocasek, Laurie Anderson, or Madonna. "Becoming a complete musician
has been an on-going process for me," explains Mac. "It has been an
evolution of building a personal stylistic identity by collaborating with other
musicians of enormous talent. I've been influenced and stimulated by them and
have been able to develop my own character and individual style. Whether I'm
working with David Bowie, Hall, Oates or even Duran Duran, most times, I've
been able to interject my own concepts into their music and it has helped my
own personal approach to music."
"With all the influences and experiences I've encountered,"adds Mac,
"along with my own personal musical development, I feel that SMOKIN' SECTION
is a sound that had to happen. It's a collection of tracks for the listener
who enjoys a more exciting and stimulating sound not routinely heard...or found...on
recordings today."
So, it's not surprising that the versatile trumpeter whose unforgettable solo
on David Bowie's "Let's Dance" title cut changed Bowie's sound and
gave him the biggest hit of his career, is making a few slamming tracks of his
own...carving his own niche with a sound so unique that critics have compared
him to brassers like Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan. "Visible, volatile
products of burning" defines the smoking hits music of Mac Gollehon and
of his recent debut release as leader, MAC'S SMOKIN' SECTION (available through
Twinbrook, June, 1996), an artistic and musical narrative with strong roots
in tradition as well as the makings of a stylistic hybrid. It is a fresh, pure
sound on the scene moody blues, pulsing soca, jazz rock, and finger-popping
pop to hip hop, swinging big band to sizzling salsa...exuding attitude, inflection,
and ambiance. It's no wonder that SMOKIN' SECTION smokes!
Smokin'-Section...slow, sensuous peregrinations- through smoke-filled jazz
dungeons,slipping errant into world color and cosmic clubs, fading into the
haunting blues simplicity of a Mississippi night... is a musical narrative with
strong roots in tradition and the makings of a stylistic hybrid. - McKenzie
Entertainment
In Media Publicity
Question: What do David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Steve Winwood, Grover Washington,
Laurie Anderson, Lester Bowie, Nile Rodgers, and Hilton Ruiz all have in common
Answer: Recording with Mac Gollehon one of the most exceptional trumpeters/session
players in the music industry.
Mac's Smokin' Section Gollehon's all-original debut album features Mac Gollehon's
exciting brand of trumpet, with an all-star cast including Nile Rodgers (guitar),
Lester Bowie (trumpet), Hilton Ruiz (piano) and Robert Aaron (tenor sax). Mac's
Smokin' Section is lush with original tracks dipped in jazz, rock, latin and
blues rhythms and fused by Gollehon's soulful trumpet.
Whether touring the world with top-charting groups or jamming in the studio
with Latin jazz all-stars, Gollehon's skillful trumpet playing has graced over
1,000 recordings, many of which have been certified gold or platinum. His distinct
"voice" can be heard blowing on hits such as David Bowie's "Let's
Dance," (that's Mac introducing the song), Mick Jagger's "Dancin'
in the Streets," Duran Duran's "Notorious," and Billy Ocean's
"Get Out of My Dreams," among others.
This former member of the Apollo Theatre House Band has shared stages as diverse
as Live Aid, Soul Train and Saturday Night Live with artists as diverse as Madonna,
Lester Bowie, Mick Jagger, Buddy Rich, Bowie and Tito Puente. (But his first
gig was as a 12 year-old member of a circus band!) Classically trained, this
three-time author, inventor, and innovator is one of the music industry's best-kept
secrets.
MAC Gollehon:
Author, Inventor, Innovator
The Educator:
Perhaps the most important components of playing the trumpet correctly and successfully
are breath control and embouchure alignment two issues that Mac confronted early
in his career. As students throughout the world questioned him about his power,
control, and range, Mac's answers cemented his reputation as an embouchure specialist
in the brass community with clinics, lectures and demon- strations in South
America, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, and Japan.
The Author:
From his international lectures and clinics, Mac compiled enough material for
two books Embouchure and Embouchure Update. His third book, Latin and Caribbean
Rhythms was also extremely well-received.
The Video Star:
Mac co.-produced a how-to videotape, Mega-fingers, that demonstrates a method
of training fingers for strength, coordination and agility.
The lnventor:
As challenging as playing the trumpet, has been learning how the trumpet is
played: Mac made studies and comparisons of different types of trumpets and
their resistance factors and responses towards vibration and airstream; he studied
publications of renown trumpet designer Reynold Schilke; he experimented in
metals, lead pipes, tapers, bore sizes and bell shapes. The MAX trumpet a collaboration
with Alan Colin is now sold internationally. He is currently working on two
additional prototypes.
The Teacher:
Mac has been a trumpet instructor at Mannes College of Music in New York City,
and was the official trumpet coach for the U.S. Army.
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