Brass and Woodwinds

The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music is proud to have members of The Motor City Horns on staff as our brass and woodwind instructors.

The Motor City Horns are among Detroit’s most versatile musicians. Individually, MCH members have worked with a variety of artists, bands, and orchestras including: Justin Timberlake, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, andYo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. As a group, they have joined forces with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (2006 – 2007 Face The Promise Tour), as well asClarence Clemons and the Temple of Soul. Locally they have appeared with The Brothers Groove, Johnnie Bassett and the Blues Insurgents, Thornetta Davis, Root Doctor and Alexander Zonjic. With Zonjic, they have shared the stage and crafted horn arrangements for many well-known jazz artists, including Bob James and Jeff Lorber. Recent CD releases include The Verve Pipe, Ben Cyllus, The TaleGators, Root Doctor, Midtown Underground, Carl Craig and Tribe, bluesman Johnnie Bassett and singer/songwriter Liz Larin.

If you or anyone you know plays a horn instrument and wishes to have private music mentorships with some of the finest instructors around, please don’t hesitate to contact the school at: 1-888-988-ROCK.

 

HORN SECTION TRAINING!
As an addition to our rock band program, we have been adding a select few horn students to student bands (adult and school-aged) as horn “sections.” An audition , private mentorship, and rehearsal commitment is required for this participation.

 

 

Jimmy Smith:
Trumpeter, composer, and arranger Jimmy Smith is among the most sought after young musicians in the Midwest. Jimmy recently relocated to the Detroit area from New York City. He holds a Masters degree in jazz performance from The Aaron Copland School of Music, and is an alumni of The Berklee College of Music as well as Wayne State University. Also a music educator, Jimmy has held numerous artist in residence positions in the NYC public schools, he is also the director of the “Summer Rocks” program at the Detroit School of Rock and Pop music. He has also held positions at Oakland Hills Music camp and was the founder of the Oakland Trumpet workshop. Jimmy is a certified music teacher in Michigan.

In addition to being a member of the The Motor City Horns, Jimmy is also a member of the Latin band Saoco, The Paul Keller Orchestra, Bobby Streng’s House Big Band, and The Motor City Jazz Orchestra. Active in the musical landscape, he has performed with a number of regional and national artists/acts, including The Verve Pipe, Alexander Zonjic, Alberta Adams, Melvin Davis, Pat Lewis,Karen Newman, Johnnie Bassett, and The Temptations.
Jimmy has also performed with jazz legend Jimmy Heath, trumpeters Jim Rotondi, Michael Phillip Mossman, and saxophonist Antonio Hart, as well as The Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra, Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison and Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. During his tenure in NYC Jimmy also lead his own group The Jimmy Smith Sextet.
Jimmy has recorded for national and international television commercials at studios in Detroit. He has also recorded with The Men of Grace, (Kenny Flav’s) Wayne Kounty, The Motor City Horns, Stewart Francke, Bob Mervak, Jeff Scott and Bret Puchir’s Chicken Bucket All-stars.
Jimmy lives in Pontiac, Michigan with his wife.