Tulsa trumpet player brings music to city's streets

Source: Tulsa World, Okla.迷你倉新蒲崗Aug. 10--At lunchtime downtown, the melody of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" wafts through the air.The trumpet breathes life into the mundane routine of workers scurrying around for a noon-time meal.Troy Hanson Jr. stands in front of a line of sandwich shops with his horn up, moving into Leon Russell's "This Masquerade," then the Disney classic "Some Day My Prince Will Come."His trumpet case stands open, holding a handful of dollars.He doesn't quit."If I didn't think anybody enjoyed it, I wouldn't keep coming back," Hanson said. "People tell me they like it. Some people don't respond, but most people do."Not homeless: Hanson, 59, is a professional."Most people think street musicians are homeless, but I'm not," he said. "I'm working, and I have a home."He grew up in Tulsa, first picking up a horn at Carver Junior High School because his aunt had one he could use.At Booker T. Washington High School, where he graduated in 1971, Hanson played with some of Tulsa's most notable musicians, including Charlie Wilson, who was the Gap Band's lead singer.School is where Hanson learned to read music and play classical pieces.Outside of class, the guys preferred Top 40 dance hits of the day, including those from Kool and the Gang, Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears. It was an era of music with strong horn sections.Hanson bounced around colleges and eventually landed in California by the late 1970s, earning a living playing the trumpet. He was hired as a session player and went on tour with national acts.Family brought him back to Tulsa in the 1990s, and he became acquainted with the Greenwood Jazz Ensemble."They were older guys trying to keep jazz going," he said. "They told me, 'You are going to have to come back to this.' They started me on jazz. They got me into it. I learned a lot from playing with them."His ace is his ability to improvise."That was in my favor. That's how I could keep a gig," he said.Hanson plays occasionally with Charlie Redd and the Full Flava Kings, goes out on the road once in a while with the Houston-based La 迷你倉出租onora Dinamita, and gets solo offers around town.'Just go play': The responsibilities to aging parents are what led Hanson to the downtown streets.He and his siblings take turns caring for their parents, who are both home-bound and ailing.The stress and monotony were building up."One night I had a dream where Louis Armstrong told me: 'Just go play. Don't worry about the money or place. Just go play.' "The next morning, Hanson got up, grabbed his trumpet and went to Main Street.That was about four months ago. He's been back regularly between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.On weekends, he might go to the Brady Arts District."It eases me," he said. "It eases the pressure. When I get up, I have an attitude that I can come out here and chill for a while. When I get here, I can deal with it."I love my family, but sometimes, you just get a little tired. And I try to make a few dollars, too."Mixing it up: Music changes a scene.The sound of Hanson's horn floats farther through the air over the building-lined streets.Some passersby ask if he is from New Orleans or New York, which offer more street performers playing a variety of instruments."You just don't see no trumpet players in Tulsa much," Hanson said.When he isn't able to make it downtown, the streets seem strangely quiet."There are a couple of guys playing guitar down here, and I saw a keyboard player at the Brady District," he said. "There are starting to be more musicians out there on the streets playing. It's like I'm starting something."Hanson makes a different set list for each performance, mixing in pieces of pop, funk, soul, R&B and traditional."I try to do a lot of jazz," he said. "That's what keeps you going. It keeps me interested. I have to have fun, or I'll close it up."Some downtown workers stop for a moment to listen. Children are positively mesmerized."People tell me they enjoy it, and that makes me feel good," Hanson said. "But I'm playing for me."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存倉