Meet Ryan Deweese | Freelance Trumpet Player, Music Educator, Founder – RAD Jazz Orchestra

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Deweese and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
The decision to pursue a career as a musician came fairly organically. Both of my parents studied music in college and while neither of them ended up pursuing a full-time performer path, their knowledge of what it took to be a musician at the highest level was a substantial influence on me and helped me decide to follow this career path. Another reason I decided to pursue music is the community of musicians and friends that I get to work with on a daily basis. To be able to perform with musicians at a high level that care about each other as people just as much as they care about the music is truly inspiring and drives me to work that much harder on my craft. Lastly, and perhaps one of the main reasons why most musicians choose this career, is the feeling you get when you can create and express yourself at the deepest emotional level. There’s not a much better feeling in the world than standing on stage after a performance and hearing the audience appreciate your artistic expression.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a trumpet player in a town like Los Angeles there is no shortage of opportunities to make music with many of the best musicians in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of playing on TV and film soundtracks, with the LA Philharmonic, at amusement parks, on a variety of original ensembles like big bands and jazz combos, and so much more, all of which requiring a different set of musical skills in a variety of genres. While I enjoy being a sideman on all of these projects, the thing I’m most proud of in my career up to this point is the release of my first album as a leader with my big band, the RAD Jazz Orchestra. My first musical love and still my favorite type of ensemble to play in is the jazz big band, so it was a natural progression to follow in the footsteps of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Gordon Goodwin, and so many more to lead my own group. There’s nothing quite like assembling a group of your friends who also happen to be world-class musicians to perform music written specifically for your group and seeing the impact it has on an audience.

While this life as a musician in LA is one I wouldn’t trade for anything, there are still plenty of challenges that come along with it. First, there are only a small handful of gigs that provide consistency both in terms of work and pay. I’m fortunate enough to have one gig that I can count on a couple days a week, but I also know that for all of the busy months there will be months where work is slow and figuring out how to use that free time effectively to better yourself as a musician and not fall behind on bills is something all freelancers need to figure out for themselves. Second, and perhaps the most pressing thing we need to address here in LA, is the dwindling amount of recording opportunities and lack of live music venues. Over the last century the defining characteristic of the music scene in LA has been the thriving recording scene. From recording music for media such as TV, film, commercials, and video games to recording albums for the biggest names in music history, Los Angeles has been the go-to place for world-class recorded music. However, over the last decade or so there has been more and more work moving to other parts of the country and across the globe due to cheaper production costs. For myself and the rest of my peers who are just starting to establish ourselves in town, we can’t rely on the type of consistent work people had in the studios in previous generations. As for the live music venues, you’d think that in a major city LA there would be plenty of demand for places to hear live music from any genre, but in reality there is a distinct lack of adequate venues specifically for original creative music. We as musicians need to continue to show how important our contributions are to society and my hope is that the RAD Jazz Orchestra can help push that change!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite things about living in LA is how diverse the food scene is. No matter what type of food you’re into, LA has something for you. Here are some of my favorites… For breakfast/brunch there’s Republique and Met Her At A Bar in Mid-City, Pepe’s Finest Mexican Food for breakfast burritos, and YLS Bakery in Orange County. For lunch/dinner I really enjoy the sandwich at Roma Market in Pasadena, Tacos Los Cholos, the incredible Japanese cuisine in Sawtelle, and La Tavolata for fresh pasta in Artesia. For drinks there’s Seven Grand and Clifton’s Republic in Downtown and Strong Water in Anaheim.

Aside from the fabulous drinks and cuisine, LA is also home to many beautiful spots for recreation and relaxation. Some of my favorites include seeing a show at the Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland, visiting our wonderful museums (Getty, LACMA, etc), and relaxing on the coast in Malibu or Crystal Cove.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would not be where I am today without the support and love from my parents, Paul and Jill DeWeese. They introduced me to the power of music and continue to be my strongest support system. I also want to shoutout my teachers and mentors over the years: Rita Watson, Brad Davis, Chuck Tumlinson, Justin DiCioccio, Laurie Frink, Tony Kadleck, Jeff Jarvis, Kye Palmer, Rob Frear, and Wayne Bergeron. All of these people have taught me so much about music both in terms of foundational technique and how to carve a career out of it.

Website: https://ryandeweese.com/home

Instagram: https://instagram.com/radjazzz

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCg6FC-hK4YnPBJ1rwWxTJg

Image Credits
Andrew Ficke, Richard Takenaga