When we asked Terence what he wanted in his new RAJA, he just said, "You know...!" We took this to mean that he wanted the best full weight sheet-braced RAJA we have ever made... one that plays and sounds amazing.
It took us five months to build Terence's new trumpet, and we could not be happier with how it turned out. It is a full weight, state-of-the-art, threaded integral mouthpiece RAJA - the first of its kind. We matched the weight of his previous RAJA and personalized the upgraded acoustic design to make it play with more resonance and overtones, a faster and yet more secure response, and much greater ease in the extreme upper register. We were able to hear Terence in concert at this year's ITG conference in Columbus GA, and he was all over the horn, effortlessly screaming out loud high G's and A's with Poncho Sanchez all night long!
Terence has played our integral mouthpiece RAJA's exclusively since 1990 when we first started making them. In November of 2011 we delivered his new, full weight PRANA RAJA Bb to him at a gig in New York, just before he went onstage to perform.
We engraved his new instrument with his first name in the "secret spot" on the back side of the lower tuning slide outer tube. We also inlaid finger buttons with solid black tourmaline, which combined with the instrument's brushed 24k gold finish make the team colors of his hometown football team the New Orleans Saints.
Terence is one of the most efficient trumpet players we work with, and his body use and breathing are spectacular. His full weight RAJA trumpet is built with this kind of efficiency in mind, and his open and aligned approach to the trumpet is essential to get the most out of these instruments. For our clients who have truly internalized our concepts of body use and breathing these instruments are an amazing conduit for musical expression. However, they are not for everyone, and many people we work with are more at home on one of our lighter instruments.
Thanks to Terence for inspiring this new design, and for the outrageous music he brings to the world through his writing and performing. You can keep up with Terence's music and tour dates on his excellent website and Facebook page:
Terence's first notes on his new RAJA!
First Play-Test of Terence's RAJA in our Shop
How we build Terence's RAJA
Terence and friends backstage at ITG