Trumpeter Wallace Roney embraces the talent and technical facility of his predecessors, including great jazz trumpeters like Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Kenny Dorham. Having absorbed and integrated earlier advances on his instrument, Roney draws on his own imagination to develop a sound that is unique and original. As an exhilarated audience welcomes him to the stage of the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab, Roney responds with a jubilant rendition of Brown’s "Joy Spring".

As a child, Roney was drawn to the trumpet by his father’s love for the instrument and his substantial collection of jazz records. A boxer by trade, Roney’s father also played trumpet himself. But hearing Miles Davis had the greatest impact on Roney’s future aspirations. He says, "Miles was my idol from the beginning," though Roney eventually found his father’s favorite trumpeter, Clifford Brown, equally inspiring. Of Davis and Brown, Roney says, "I just kind of put the two together." He then knocks out a soulful rendition of Davis’ classic, "All Blues".

After attending the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington, DC and Berklee College of Music in Boston, Roney resolved to pursue a career as a jazz musician. He left Boston and sold everything he had (including his trumpet!) to get to New York for an audition with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Fortunately, he got the gig by using a borrowed trumpet.

As a student of "the college of Art Blakey", Roney was educated at an entirely new level—on stage with one of jazz’s great ensembles. Roney says of Blakey, "If you could swing, but were inexperienced, he brought it out in you." Blakey’s support has enabled many young players rise up to his standards, which have been clearly demonstrated by the outstanding line-ups he has led over several decades.

At first, Roney was overwhelmed by the fact that many of the trumpeters that he idolized had played with Blakey, including Freddy Hubbard and Lee Morgan, in addition to Davis, Brown, and Dorham. He recalls being too intimidated to venture "out of the pocket" with solos among the other virtuosos, like alto saxophonist Bobby Watson. But after a few gigs, Roney just went for it. He started contributing his own unique soloing style to the ensemble performances and received Blakey’s hard-earned praise.

Dr. Taylor asks Roney to elaborate on his predecessors’ techniques and how they influenced his own style. Roney cites Dorham’s use of "tri-tone substitutions" as a "turnaround" between chord changes. He then demonstrates Dorham’s technique, as well as his own adaptation, which applies Davis’ advanced harmonic concepts. Roney also notes Brown’s incredible articulation, and his "symmetrical" phrasing. Later, he discusses other influences, including Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro.

At one point, Roney describes how he met Davis while playing at a retrospective of Miles’ music at Radio City Music Hall. Davis complemented his playing and, upon learning of Roney’s borrowed trumpets, gave him one of his own. Roney stayed in contact with Davis, who later asked Roney to play in his band at the club Indigo Blues. After Davis passed away, Roney was invited by Davis alumni, including pianist Herbie Hancock, to join a reunion tour of Davis’ ensemble.

Recalling Davis’ repertoire, Roney plays "Move", by Denzil Best and Davis’ own "Half Nelson." He also plays moving renditions of Duke Ellington’s "Sophisticated Lady," and Bob Haggart’s "What’s New", demonstrating his sensitivity with ballads. Other songs performed during the show include John Coltrane’s "Moment’s Notice" and Dizzy Gillespie’s "Woody ‘N You".