Quick Facts
Biography
Wayne Bergeron (born January 16, 1958) is an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Maynard Ferguson's band in the 1980s. He is notable for his ability in the upper register of the instrument, as in his screaming trumpet work in the soundtrack for the animated movie The Incredibles.
Biography
Bergeron was born on January 16, 1958 in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Los Angeles. His first instrument was the French horn, but in his early teens he switched to trumpet. An accident in middle school caused him to chip his tooth. Some have suggested that the chip allowed him to blow more air through the horn and to play high notes easily. However, this has not been proven, and Bergeron is unsure what contributes to his ability. Early on, he could play in a high register on the trumpet, a skill that takes most trumpeters years to develop. Bergeron has said that it was difficult for him to learn the trumpet because he played everything up two octaves. He could play a double high C (C7) before he could play low C (C4/middle C).
In 1986, he won the spot of lead trumpeter for Maynard Ferguson's band. He has recorded as a sideman for David Benoit, Rosemary Clooney, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias, and Jack Sheldon and contributed to the movies Despicable Me, Dreamgirls, Frozen, Rounders, Superman Returns, The Incredibles, and Toy Story 3.
Bergeron has held the role of lead trumpet in Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band since the band was founded and has had two solo charts written for him: "Horn of Puente" from XXL and "Years of Therapy" from Life in the Bubble.
His debut album as a solo musician was You Call This a Living? (2002), featuring the "Friend Like Me", arranged by Tom Kubis for the movie Aladdin. The album also features fellow Maynard Ferguson alumni Peter Erskine on drums and Big Phat Band alumni Eric Marienthal on saxophone. His next album, Plays Well with Others (2007), received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album features Maynard Ferguson in one of his last performances on the track "Maynard & Waynard".
In 2013, Bergeron designed his own range of trumpet mouthpieces.
Discography
- You Call This a Living? (Wag, 2002)
- Plays Well with Others (Concord Jazz, 2007)
- Music & Mistletoe (Wag, 2008)
- Trumpet Fiesta: A Celebration of Rafael Mendez (Summit, 2012)
- Full Circle (Wayne Bergeron, 2016)