Mike Axel

Double High C after 2 hours!
Here are some clips from one the most challenging concerts I have ever played. They are from a performance by the decbigband on May 16, 2000 at the Palace Theater in Manchester, New Hampshire. The decbigband was a group originally formed by employees of Digital Equipment Corp. In the late 90's, many employees/musicians were laid off but remained band members. This was one of the last performances before the group became the Compaq Big Band, its current name even though Compaq was taken over by Hewlett-Packard. This was my last performance with the group as an official member. I played lead trumpet on 30 of the 31 tunes, laying out on one that was to precede a solo feature for me. The feature was cut to shorten the program.

My equipment then, as now, was a 1983 vintage Yamaha large bore (.462"), lightweight, reverse leadpipe model with a Schilke 20 mouthpiece. For solo sections of In The Mood and Blue Birdland and all of Things Ain't What They Used To Be, I switched to a Yamaha 11 mouthpiece. The concert consisted of 2 one hour sets as follows:

Set 1	Set 2
In The Mood - arr Tyzik - High Bb	Strike Up The Band - arr Nestico
Blue Birdland - Ferguson - High A	Teach Me Tonight - arr Kubis
Satin Doll - arr Nestico	I Love Paris - Kenton - High A
On The Street Where You Live - Kenton	Just Friends - adapted from Boss Brass - High G
Deed I Do - vocal	Almost Like Being In Love - vocal arr Niehaus
When I Fall In Love - vocal	Take The A Train - vocal
All Right, Okay, You Win - vocal	I've Got The World On A String- - High A
Cold September Morning - arr Kubis	Sultry Samba - arr Kubis
Tribute To The Duke - arr Nestico	Mr. Lucky - Rich - High F#
Love For Sale - Rich	Which Craft - Kubis
Am I Blue - vocal	The More I See You - vocal
Tangerine - vocal	Everyday I've Got The Blues - vocal
MexiCali Nose - Rich	C Jam Blues
Who Can I Turn To - arr Kubis	The Party's Over - Kenton
Sing, Sing, Sing	Ya Gotta Try - Nestico
	Things Ain't What They Used To Be - Double High C - Double High C

Click on the links to hear mp3 or wma clips. 

Copyright © 2026 Mike Axel.