The James F. Burke Tribute Page Cornet Soloist & Solo Chair with The Goldman Band: 1943-1974 "The last celebrated cornet soloist of the 20th century"

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Hello and welcome to The James F. Burke Tribute Page!!!

Here you can learn all about this truly remarkable man who overcame a severe birth defect and went on to become one of the world's greatest cornet soloists.

Read his story, listen to his music and please return here often for updates!

Note: Each page with background music comes equipped with a user friendly toolbar in the lower right hand corner. All backround music on this site is composed and performd or conducted by James F. Burke.

Recent Updates:

December 7, 2011

several photos added to gallery and discography.

Dec. 21, 2011

4 new photos added in gallery and publications.

Dec. 24, 2011

New photo added to gallery

National Emblem Fanfare fade.mp3.mp3

Bio

Biography

JFB Resume.pdf

James Francis Burke was born the youngest of three children to Robert Arthur Burke and Helen Marguerite Gobel on April 15, 1923 in Port Jefferson, New York. Robert was a mason contractor and semi professional cornetist. Helen, a rather petite woman, was a devoted wife and mother and a gifted pianist who together with her husband performed at many private parties in their area. At the time of his birth, Jimmy weighed 15 pounds 9 ounces, at that time the largest baby ever born in the state of New York. Because of this, surgical instruments (including forceps) had to be used. During the birthing procedure, the child suffered a brachial plexis injury. The injury was caused by the forceps pressing on and pinching the brachial nerve in the neck area resulting in permanent damage to his right arm. The damage was so severe that the arm never fully developed and remained withered and virtually useless his entire life. At the age of five, Jimmy began to study the cornet with his father. Something had to be done to help the child hold the horn and so his father had an apparatus built to hold it in place while Jimmy fingered the horn with his left hand. It was a tripod stand and at the top was shaped like a horse shoe. The horn would sit in this stand and a strap would go over the front of the valves to hold the horn in place.The tripod was on rollers for easy transportation around the home and could be raised and lowered like a music stand. By the age of seven, Jimmy was playing little solos and soon began performing at the local Rotary Club. At the age of 11, now long considered a child prodigy, he appeared in his first movie "Stars of Tomorrow". At this time he also auditioned for and became a member of "Coast To Coast On A Bus", a radio program broadcast each Sunday morning on WJZ. At the same time he was also performing on WABC's "Horn and Hardart's Childrens Hour". This was Jimmy's ritual until he was eighteen: a solo broadcast on each show every Sunday morning. During his high school years, he participated in just about every regional and national contest and was eventually declared national champion. In 1935, Jimmy was sent to Del Staigers for lessons. At that time, Staigers was considered the world's foremost cornet soloist, having performed along side the great Frank Simon in Sousa's band before holding the solo chair with the famed Goldman Band from 1926-1934. He is credited with teaching Jimmy musicianship and the responsibility of solo cornet performance. Staigers was also responsible for having a horn designed by the King company especially for Jimmy and left handed playing. The bell was mounted on the right side of the horn to accomadate the holding problem. Jimmy always regarded Staigers as the greatest cornet soloist he had ever heard. "....You could see the notes coming out of the bell. There was just that much fire. It was electrifying" he would say, still clearly in awe of his teacher decades after studying with him. That same year, some of the participants of "The Children's Hour" made a short film for Warner Brothers titled "Stars Of Tomorrow". Jimmy played the trumpet along with a few other child instrumentalists in a version of "Comin' Round The Mountain". Rehearsals were in New York City and lasted six weeks. Jimmy made the 60 mile daily trek into New York City and then, on to New Jersey where the film was shot. For all of his efforts he was paid $10.00. In 1937, Jimmy began studying with John "Ned" Mahoney, a highly respected teacher and cornetist with the Goldman Band. Ned Mahoney was a graduate of the Ernest S. Williams School of Music in Brooklyn, New York. Along with Leonard B. Smith and J. Frank Elsass (also graduates of the Williams School), Ned was part of a very popular cornet trio in Goldman's band. In fact, Herbert L. Clarke thought so much of them that he invited them to his home in Long Beach California to perform "The Three Aces" with his band. Around 1938, at Ned's recommendation, Jimmy began attending the Williams School. Ernest S. Williams was really a legend in his own time. In 1917 he replaced another legendary trumpeter - Harry Glantz - as principle trumpet with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Williams was also the cornet soloist with Patrick Conway's Band, Victor Herbert's Band, Sousa's Band and The Goldman Band. But more importantly, his success as a teacher is remarkable. Coming from a long line of famous teachers himself (including E.W. Garrett, Henry C. Brown and Herbert L. Clarke), Williams was responsible for producing numerous soloists and first chair players with virtually every major orchestra and concert band in the country. Leonard B. Smith, J. Frank Elsass, Raymond Crisara, Louis Davidson, Milton Davidson, Gilbert Mitchell, Bobby Hackett, Walter M. Smith and Don Jacoby were just a few of the many great trumpet and cornet players who studied with Williams. In 1942 at the age of nineteen, Jimmy was selected by famed bandmaster Dr. Edwin Franko Goldman to replace Del Staigers (who had returned briefly to fill the vacancy left by Leonard B. Smith) as his permanent cornet soloist and solo chair player. And so in 1943 Jimmy began his career with the Goldman Band. During his 32 years with the Goldman Band, Jimmy was contracted to play five solos each week. The band played seven nights a week with 50 concerts in a summer season. All totaled, Jimmy played over 1100 solos with the Goldman Band. He had a prodigious memory for music and rarely read from sheet music during a performance. In 1943, Jimmy began a seven year stint as principle trumpet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as professor of trumpet at the Peabody Conservatory and Conductor of the band. Jimmy moved to Baltimore and would take the train up to New York for the summers with the Goldman Band. In 1950, Jimmy accepted the solo chair position with the Radio City City Music Hall Orchestra under the direction of Raymond Paige, a position he held for about three years. Another band Jimmy that was closely associated with was The Cities Service Band of America, conducted by Paul LaValle. From 1948 through 1954 he was a featured soloist on weekly radio broadcasts with that popular band. He recorded The Carnival of Venice (on trumpet) with LaValle which was released as a single and also on the album "A Sunday Band Concert". In 1951, Jimmy recorded what is considered by many to be the definitive performance of Leroy Anderson's "A Trumpeter's Lullaby". The performance was rewarded by a standing ovation from the orchestra members as well as the pleased composer / conductor. Three years later he recorded Anderson's popular trumpet trio "Bugler's Holiday" with fellow trumpeters Ray Crisara and John Ware. Seven takes were made during the recording process with each take faster than the previous. It is not clear which take was used for the record album. In 1954, Jimmy ventured into the commercial scene as the featured soloist on a recording by Archie Bleyer titled "S'il Vous Plait". This was another occassion where Jimmy played the trumpet rather than the cornet. The recording was actually the flip side of the hit "Hernando's Hideaway" from the hit film "The Pajama Game". That single, on Bleyer's own label Cadence rose to # 2 on the charts and featured castanet soloist Maria Alba. By 1955, Jimmy was working regularly with composer and conductor Robert Russell Bennett. Under Bennett, he recorded the soundtrack to "Victory At Sea" for RCA records and premiered Bennett's "Rose Variations" for cornet and band with the Goldman Band. In 1956, Jimmy recorded a solo album called Horn Of Plenty. Included here are phenomenal performances of rare cornet solos by J.B. Arban, including "Deuxieme Grand Solo", "Deuxieme Fantasia Brilliante" and "The Carnival Of Venice". Verdi's "Fantasie sur Aida" (arranged by Arban) is included here as well and in Burke's own words "... this was the most challanging and difficult solo I ever played." All of the aforementioned solos come complete with his phenomenal double and triple tonguing, unique sound, perfect intonation and beautiful musical expression in the Bel Canto style. The album also includes some of his own compositions as well as his own arrangement of Walter Rogers' The Volunteer. This record is long out of print, unavailable on CD, and is considered a real collectors item today. The solos were all performed on his famous Buescher Super 400 cornet (converted for left handed playing) which is pictured on the cover of the album. Throughout his career Jimmy often "sidelined" as a spokesman for various musical instrument companies including Bach, Conn and King, but he is most closely associated with the Buescher company, having played a large role in the design of the Buescher "Super 400" cornet and trumpet. In 1959, Jimmy made a series of recordings called "The Artist Workshop Series". Included in the package was a 45 rpm recording where on one side the student/listener is treated to a performance of a cornet solo and on the flip side, a "master class'" by the soloist. The package also included the original sheet music, edited by Mr. Burke. In 1960 Jimmy co-founded The All-Star Concert Band with famed tuba soloist Dr.Harvey Phillips. For this endeavor, Jimmy chose the music and Harvey chose the musicians. The band was comprised of every top soloist and first chair player in the country. The trumpet section included Jimmy's close friend Ray Crisara, Bob Nagel, Harry Glantz, Manny Weinstock, Ted Weis and Wilfred Roberts. The band recorded three albums: "The All-Star Concert Band"; " Walter Beeler Conducts The Golden Crest Band" and "The Burke-Phillips All-Star Concert Band Vol. 2". Jimmy conducted the band (along with Harvey Phillips and guest conductors Lucien Cailliet and Hunter Wiley) and performed as cornet soloist on three of his own compositions. His lone composition for concert band "Lincoln Square March" is also included. These three albums were scheduled for re-release as a double CD until the untimely death of Harvey Phillips in October of 2010. The project would have yielded what are regarded to be some of the finest concert band recordings ever made. In addition, the band also recorded a single "O Holy Night" backed with "God Bless This House" on the Golden Crest label. "O Holy Night" features Burke as cornet solist in a beautiful rendition of this popular Christmas hymn. While Jimmy was best known as a cornet soloist, his ability to cross over and blend into orchestral playing was often overlooked. As noted earlier, Jimmy held the position of principle trumpet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1943-1950 (a position he resigned only due to the failing health of his dear mother back on Long Island). Yet another orchestral performance of note for which Jimmy is credited is the 1960 recording of "The Rite of Spring" with the Columbia Symhony Orchestra, conducted by none other than Igor Stravinsky. (Trumpeter Bob Nagel also appears on this recording). Around this time, Jimmy recorded an album titled "Clinician Series" on the Golden Crest label. This was a live recording of a clinic given at a junior high school where Jimmy demonstrates all facets of trumpet/cornet playing. In 1964 he participated in what he would describe as "one of the greatest learning experiences of my life'" - a 14 week U.S. State Department good - will tour of 20 African countries. The tour began in Senegal on the Ivory Coast and ended in Morrocco. Jimmy was not only a great musician, he was equally well known for his jovial personality, his wry sense of humor and his "from the belly' laughter. Nobody ever said a bad word about him. He never saw himself as handicapped and would often joke about his shortcomings. Once, when a student asked him if he used any pressure (regarding the placement of the cornet or trumpet against the lips), he joked "Damn right I use pressure. In fact I use so much pressure that I wore out one arm and now I'm workin' on the other!". He retired from performing in 1975 to devote his time to teaching, conducting and family as he now had five children and many grandchildren. He always had a full book of students and would often teach from early morning until late at night, sometimes 7 days a week. He always made time for his students and would often go over, above and beyond the scheduled one hour lesson, a characteristic no doubt gleaned from Ernest S. Williams. His teaching style was that of a doting father, all business and very intense when it came to playing the horn, yet he had a great compassion and warmth that made even the most nervous student feel at ease. He would never yell or get angry, only sigh with a comment like "You have sinned..." whenever a student obviously hadn't practiced. You had to know your fundamentals. He would often say "If you can't finger the horn, just what can you do?" If you were having difficulty fingering the horn, he would sit right next to you and finger your horn while you blew it. The transformation would often be mind blowing to the student who now sounded (almost) as good as the master who would then chuckle and say "See? Nothin' to it." He would do the same thing if the student had trouble breathing by using his hand and actually pushing the air from the students belly, or for a students deeper understanding of proper breathing he would have the student put their hand on his belly while he played. Whatever it took to get his message across, he would do it. At any lesson, his incredible memory for music would leave even the most accomplished student awestruck. He had the entire Arban book memorized and would often sit on the other side of the room and say to the student "OK, go to page 168, number 58. It's in the middle of the page and it goes like this..." And he would play it for you right there on the spot. One day at a lesson, a certain student was playing a solo titled "Treasure Waltz" by Roger Smith. As the student played the opening cadenza, Mr. Burke called his attention to some wrong notes being played. "That's an Eb there" he said. The student replied "No it isn't, it's an E natural". Mr. Burke, in a rare display of displeasure ripped off his glasses, walked across the room, viewed the music, sighed and proceeded to correct (in his own handwriting) not only this publishing error, but over a dozen other errors throughout the solo. Nothing got by him. On June 26, 1981, Jimmy was his usual self, joking with some collegues over coffee as they were getting ready for a band rehearsal. Jimmy was going to be "guest" conducting The Guggenhiem Memorial Band, the successor to the Goldman Band in a performance of one of his favorite pieces: "Scheherazade". The rehearsal began and after a few minutes, Jimmy suffered a massive heart attack. Paramedics came and worked for nearly an hour to revive him, but their efforts were in vain. The last in a long line of celebrated cornet soloists dating back to Arban was dead at the age of 58. To this day anyone who knew him would testify to the fact when Jimmy Burke died, not only did the world lose one of its greatest cornet soloists, one with truley unbelievable ability, but a man who was respected and loved even more for who he was. There was a large turnout of family, friends, students and colleagues from all over the country at Jimmy's funeral. His Buescher "Super 400" cornet was prominently displayed nearby the open casket. He was laid to rest in the family plot at Cedar Hill Cemetary in his home town of Port Jefferson, New York, beneath the tombstone which he himself carved while apprenticing for his father. His cornet may have been silenced, but his music, memory and example will live on for generations to come.

Deuxieme Fantasie Brilliante.mp3

Music

Cornet Solos >>
Clinician
Discography
Publications

Cornet Solos >>

With Orchestra
With Piano
With Concert Band

With Orchestra

Click jewel Case, select song from list,,use arrows at bottom to play

S'il Vous Plait
A Trumpeters Lullaby
Buglers Holiday

With Piano

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Willow Echoes (Frank Simon)
Williams 4th Concerto Mvmt. 1
Fantasie sur Aida (Verdi)

With Concert Band

Click jewel Case, select song from list,,use arrows at bottom to play

Williams 1st Concerto Mvmt 1
Columbian Fantasy (War Song)
New York Light Guard Quickstep
The Bugler
Carnival of Venice
Twilight Tune
O Holy Night
Hocus Polka
Danza Allegre

Clinician

Click jewel Case, select song from list,,use arrows at bottom to play

Clinician Series Part 1
Clinician Series Part 2

Clinic TRacks.pdf

Discography

Horn Of Plenty
Contest Solo's
A Trumpeter's Lullabye
LA conducts LA.jpg
Sunday Band Concert
S'il Vous Plait
The Rite of Spring
On The Mall
Songs Of Our Fighting Men
On Parade
I Love To Hear A Band
Sousa marches In Hi-Fi
here comes the band
Marching Along Together
band masterpieces
Cavalcade of the American Band
Greatest Band in the Land!
The Band Plays On
Hi-Fi Band Concert
Brass and Percussion
Bach Mass Mass in B Minor
The Magic Trumpet
Introduction and Tarentella
Victory at Sea
All-Star Concert Band
All-Star Concert Band

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Publications

New Directions in Tonguing
Danza Allegre
Amourette
Jimala Beguine
Trumpet Solos with Piano
The Runaway Trumpet
Hocus Polka
Serenade in 68
Prom Waltz
Twilight Tune
Strictly G.I.
The Magic Trumpet

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Gallery

Helen and Robert Burke
Jimmy at 5 years of age.
Stars of Tomorrow
Stars of Tomorrow
Child Prodigy
Del Staigers
Ernest S. Williams
Relaxing at The Williams Camp
Ernest Williams Summer Camp
Letter from Ernest Williams
The Burke Family
Age 19
Goldman's New Soloist
NY Times
Letter from E.F. Goldman
Jimmy in lower RH corner
Principle Trumpet
At Home
Jimmy and wife Jolene Mitchell
Jimmy and Dorothy Huston
Jimmy Burke
With Paul LaValle
Cities Service Band of America
Unknown; Ned Mahoney and Jimmy
Columbia Concert Band

Bach Mass in B Minor

Horn of Plenty

School Musician Magazine

Buescher Spokesman

Buescher Promo Photo

Ned Mahoney and Jimmy

Jimmy and his Super 400 Cornet

1978 NY Brass Conference

Collegues

Jimmy Burke aged 54

A Cornet Lesson

A Cornet Lesson

Burke Family Plot

Final Resting Place

Friends of Jimmy Burke

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Lincoln Square March (2).mp3

Videos

Intoduction and Tarentella P1

The Magic Trumpet

Intoduction and Tarentella P2

Duexieme Grand Solo

Links
Del Staigers
Edwin Franko Goldman
Ernest S. Williams
Mark O'Keeffe
"Zorita" James Klages Cornet Soloist
"Jimala Beguine" Mark O'Keeffe Cornet Soloist

Just_before_the_battle_Mother_CUT.mp3

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Guestbook Arch. 1.pdf

Guestbook Arch 2.pdf

Amourette.mp3

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