Acclaimed trumpet player Terell Stafford is an incredibly gifted and versatile player hailed as ‘one of the great players of our time’ by piano legend McCoy Tyner. First picking up the trumpet at age thirteen, he pursued a music education degree at the University of Maryland. In 1988, Stafford had the good fortune to meet and receive advice from Wynton Marsalis who suggested that he study with Dr. William Fielder at Rutgers University. After studying trumpet fundamentals with Dr. Fielder, Stafford was inspired to play all genres of music including jazz. Since the mid-1990s, Stafford has performed with groups such as Benny Golson’s Sextet, McCoy Tyner’s Sextet, Kenny Barron Quintet, Frank Wess Quintet, Jimmy Heath Quintet, and Big Band, Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Alumni Band. Moreover, Stafford has been an integral member in award-winning bands led by esteemed artists such as Cedar Walton, Sadao Watanabe, Herbie Mann, and Matt Wilson.
Tim Warfield, Jr., a native of York, Pennsylvania, began studying the alto saxophone at age nine. He has made several television appearances, including The Today Show, Bill Cosby’s You Bet Your Life (where he was a member of the house band until 1992), and Ted Turner’s 1998 Trumpet Awards. He has made numerous stage appearances with such names as Donald Byrd, Michelle Rosewoman, Marcus Miller, Marlon Jordan, James Williams, Christian McBride, Winard Harper, Dizzy Gillespie, Larry Coryell, Dakota Staton, Johnny Coles, Leslie Burrs, Isaac Hayes, Peter Nero, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Billy Paul, Kenny Barron, Nicholas Payton, Charles Fambrough, Eric Reed, Carl Allen, Stefon Harris, Orrin Evans, and many others.
The two artists, who have worked together on several projects, caught up with Occhi’s Darryl Yokley to talk about the careers, memories, and experiences of the industry.
For further information on these incredible artists, please visit
http://www.terellstafford.com/
https://www.timwarfieldmusic.com/
Images: Courtesy of Terell Stafford and Tim Warfield*.
* Steve Stoltzfus -911 Photographics
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