Calicchio Artist Series: Conrad Gozzo Custom Mouthpiece - A Brass Mavens Exclusive!
Calicchio Artist Series: Conrad Gozzo Custom Mouthpiece - A Brass Mavens Exclusive!
Conrad J. Gozzo was not just a titan among the many outstanding Italian-American trumpet players of his day, he then went on to become one of the most celebrated and beloved trumpet players of all time! From the era of the big bands to the competitive Hollywood studio scene, his was a star that shone briefly, but very bright. He defined the lead trumpet sound for everyone that followed.
Gozzo originally studied with his father, a trumpet teacher, and in 1938 set out on his professional career with Isham Jones’ Orchestra at the age of 16. Before long he was playing lead trumpet with the big bands of the day: Red Norvo, Claude Thornhill, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Les Brown, Tex Beneke, and Bob Crosby. After moving to Los Angeles in 1947, Gozzo found himself in high demand by the recording and film industry for the power, accuracy and brilliance of his lead work. Gozzo had already set the standard for big band, and soon he would redefine the studio lead trumpet sound!
Gozzo recorded extensively with high profile arrangers such as Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Ray Conniff, and Shorty Rogers. He was hand picked by his close friend Henry Mancini and played lead trumpet on all of Mancini's recordings - including one of my favorites, Peter Gunn. Clean, brilliant playing!
He was heard on many major live television shows aired on NBC, including the Dinah Shore Show from 1955 to 1964. Gozzo also played on several iconic movie soundtracks, such as The Glenn Miller Story, The Benny Goodman Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Call Me Madam, and big budget Hollywood blockbusters like Ben Hur and Cleopatra. Gozzo also recorded and performed live with icons Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin. In the 50’s and 60’s Conrad Gozzo was the first call lead trumpet player nationally!
Conrad Gozzo was a member of the NBC Hollywood staff orchestra at the time of his death in October, 1964.
He was considered by his colleagues as being an exceptionally strong trumpeter with a well-developed range and tonal quality. Doc Severinsen had high praise, saying "that guy could play anything!". In the words of Henry Mancini, Conrad Gozzo “was one of the greatest lead trumpet players who ever lived”, and Mancini featured him on nearly every one of his recordings.
For most of Conrad Gozzo's recording career, he played a Besson Meha trumpet with a custom Bert Herrick mouthpiece, of which this is a replica.
Specs for this mouthpiece:
Inner cup diameter 0.650" (in the neighborhood of a Bach 7C)
Medium cup / Wide rim
#25 Throat
Authentic Calicchio stamp
Years ago at Kanstul, we received Conrad's mouthpiece (believed to be the Bert Herrick-made one) to scan and duplicate, with the possibility that it might one day be included with the Calicchio Artist Series. This duplicate mouthpiece ended up in a cabinet for many years. We believe this to be the last one available.
Very open blow. This mouthpiece would pair well with a small- or medium bore trumpet. Gary Radtke suggests "the throat exponent makes this a very open mouthpiece, and probably better suited to a trumpet with characteristics to those of the 40's, 50's, and 60's". Indeed, I believe a vintage Conn 38-B or medium bore Martin Committee would really balance well with this mouthpiece.
Occasionally, I'd hear stories from Zig Kanstul about the trumpet players he'd met. Zig had met Gozzo and described him as "a real gentleman". Gozzo's is one of the earliest trumpet sounds I recall, and his sound has been in my head for years. Like most of us, I had a copy of Tutti's Trumpets growing up, and like most of us I wore it out!
This is believed to be the last Calicchio Artist Series Gozzo model available.
Dominick Calicchio may best be remembered as a master craftsman and instrument maker, but did you know that he also made fine custom mouthpieces? Dominick used traditional tooling and methods, and did not keep notes or drawings of these unique pieces, but he crafted fabulous custom mouthpieces - by hand- for the best players of the day.
A few years ago, Calicchio’s owner master craftsman John Duda sought to recreate some of these famous one-of-a-kind mouthpieces as the Calicchio Artist Series, and collect others to be included in the collection. Trusted agents helped track down the owners and asked if they would consider allowing replicas of these hand made custom mouthpieces to be made.
It was decided that the task of recreating these 'Holy Grail' mouthpieces should only be entrusted to the experts at Kanstul Musical Instruments, the pioneer and industry leader in single point mouthpiece scanning and accurate duplication at the time. Zig Kanstul welcomed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor this part of Dominick Calicchio’s legacy and he appointed his master craftsman (who at one time had worked for Dominick himself) to do the work.
These rare mouthpieces were collected and scanned over a period of weeks, and the originals quickly and safely returned to their owners. But John's health began to decline and for a time the entire industry was facing the challenges of a major recession. Later, Zig Kanstul passed, and the factory he founded shuttered. John Duda himself passed away recently, and it seemed the Calicchio Artist Series mouthpieces might never see the light of day after all...until now!
The Artist Series mouthpieces are rare: only one or two duplicates of each were made for reference. The mouthpiece in this listing is one of those reference mouthpieces. This is an exclusive listing, as this mouthpiece is available nowhere else!
With your purchase, you will have bragging rights that you are directly supporting the effort to not only save Calicchio Musical Instruments, but also to highlight the contributions Dominick Calicchio and John Duda made to the industry.
Kanstul Musical Instruments was a pioneer in single-point scanning and mouthpiece duplication. Before the factory was shuttered, players from around the world trusted Kanstul for their accuracy in duplicating the most valuable and unique mouthpieces, as well as extremely consistent production mouthpieces. It can be argued that Zig Kanstul’s master craftsman helped educate the current generation of mouthpiece makers, and he continues to serve as a resource and consultant to the industry to this day.
