Larry Etkin:
Trumpet and Flugelhorn

Larry at the Stereo Society Sprawl sessions,
September 1998

Larry Etkin was a friend and fan of The Uptown Horns for nearly ten years. But even before this, Etkin and Funk met at the prestigious Interlochen National Music Camp when they were in junior high school. "I knew Bob," laughs Etkin about Funk's clean-shaven head, "when he had dandruff." Etkin was also the best man at Paul Litteral's wedding and was often asked to sub for Paul and/or supplement the groups with a second trumpet. He was the natural choice to replace Litteral.

Etkin was born in NYC and at age 6 moved to a house filled with music in Larchmont, NY. His mother was an opera singer with the Philadelphia Opera Company while his sister is a cellist with the Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy. He graduated from Brown with a BA and studied at Juilliard under William Vachianno, the first trumpet in the NY Philharmonic, and session player Ray Crisara. After college, Etkin freelanced, performing and recording with groups ranging from the O'Jays (Family Reunion arena tour) to Billy Joel (Innocent Man tour). "My biggest memory was the O'Jays refused to fly, so we lived on these tour buses for months and months. Here I was the only white guy straight out of an Ivy League college, with these gun-toting Superflys. It was quite an experience … the music made it fun."

Etkin moved to Los Angeles for three years doing session work for records and television (including Sunday morning cartoons). Having his fill of tofu and bean sprouts, Etkin returned to New York and non-stop work doing jingles, Broadway shows, and sessions ranging from Buster Poindexter to Peter Allen, Louis Bellson's Big Band to Buddy Rich. He performed under the batons of conductors Eugene Ormandy (Philadelphia Orchestra), James Levine (Metropolitan Opera), and Pierre Boulez (NY Philharmonic). Etkin was enlisted to supplement The Horns on the James Brown "Gravity" LP and "Living in America" LPs, and joined them in performance with Joe Cocker. "Being on my own for so many years as a freelancer, it's great to be a part of this first-class musical family," admits Etkin. "These guys are, quite simply, just the best!"