Jerome Callet

1930 - 2019

Jerome Callet, an American trumpet player, music educator, trumpet and mouthpiece creator, and manufacturer, died Monday, May 13, 2019, at his home in Staten Island. He was 89. Mr. Callet rediscovered the original brass embouchure technique utilized in Europe during the baroque era, which at the time was only passed on verbally from trumpet guild members to their sons, and subsequently, by the great classical and jazz players of the first half of the 20th century. While this technique was described in written form within the first brass instruction books published in France in the late 1800s, as well as some American trumpet method books from the early 20th century, the instructions were mistranslated by subsequent generations of teachers, altering the trajectory and quality of brass playing and instruction for the past 100 years. Mr. Callet subsequently began creating and manufacturing his own line of trumpets and mouthpieces, for he believed that most modern trumpet equipment was designed to compensate for the failures of modern trumpet playing and teaching. Mr. Callet was born April 24, 1930, in Pittsburgh, to Samuel Callet, a business owner, and Sima (Mendleson) Callet, a wife and homemaker. Jerome began his trumpet studies at 13 after being inspired by two fellow students at the Herron Hill Junior High School in Pittsburgh: Cal Massey (who became a well-known jazz composer, writing music for artists including John Coltrane and Freddie Hubbard) and Tommy Turrentine (hard bop trumpet star who toured and recorded with artists including Max Roach, and brother of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine), both of whom were child prodigies, and were playing at a professional level by the end of middle school. Although Mr. Callet studied with several of the top trumpet teachers in the Pittsburgh area at a young age, including members of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and dedicated himself laboriously to mastering the trumpet, by the age of 30, Mr. Callet still struggled with his embouchure, and could not play up to high C. In 1947, after four years of fruitless struggle, Mr. Callet began researching the physical elements necessary to develop a powerful brass embouchure, like those of trumpet stars of the day such as Harry James, Raphael Mendez, Charlie Shavers, and Harry Glanz. In the early 1960s, Mr. Callet worked as a mutual fund salesman for Oppenheimer, selling some of the first mutual funds, and subsequently started a home fire/burglar alarm sales business in the second half of the 1960s. By the age of 40 (in 1970), after many years of trial and error, Jerome had developed what was to be the early stage of his brass embouchure technique, and named it Superchops. In 1971, Jerome published his first trumpet embouchure method book, Trumpet Yoga, which was endorsed by Maynard Ferguson. By 1972, Mr. Callet had sold his fire/burglar alarm business and moved to New York City to teach brass instrument embouchure full time. Mr. Callet's first studio was on West 48th Street, and he then opened a studio in Harlem, where he taught, and also led and played lead trumpet in a rehearsal big band. The Superchops embouchure methodology eventually led him on the quest to design and produce his own trumpets and mouthpieces, for he believed that most modern trumpet equipment was designed to compensate for the failures of modern trumpet playing and teaching. Mr. Callet learned trumpet manufacturing from two legendary American craftsmen: Elden Benge, for whom he worked from 1953 to 1968, and Dominick Calicchio, for whom he worked with from 1968-1975. Mr. Callet absorbed much of his knowledge of trumpet manufacturing from these two brilliant men. With this rich background and his talent as an accomplished machinist, Mr. Callet was able to release his first line of trumpet mouthpieces in 1973, and his first trumpet under his own brand name in 1984. In the early 1990s, Mr. Callet moved his facility to Staten Island, where he worked for the rest of his career. Although Mr. Callet closed his Staten Island facility and announced his retirement in the early 2000s, he continued to teach and design instruments and trumpets from his home in Staten Island, where he developed his Sima and Superchops trumpets, as well as his last two lines of mouthpieces. The fulfillment of Mr. Callet's quest to create the best brass instruments and mouthpieces possible is represented by his NY Soloist, Sima, Jazz, Symphonique, Superchops, and Stratosphere B-flat trumpets, in addition to various C trumpets, three Callet flugelhorns, and a Callet trombone. More than 6,000 Callet trumpets and 15,000 Callet mouthpieces have been manufactured and sold since the 1980s. In addition, Mr. Callet has taught thousands of students from all over the world since the 1960s, including trumpet greats Armando Ghitalla, John Ware, Gerard Schwartz, Lou Soloff, Pierre Thibeau, and many more. Mr. Callet has published four books on trumpet embouchure and technique, including Trumpet Yoga, Superchops, Beyond Arban, and Trumpet Secrets, and has conducted brass clinics in the United States, Canada, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Hungary and Japan. Mr. Callet also released the Master Superchops instructional DVD in 2007. Moreover, it cannot be understated that Mr. Callet's teachings, derived from the original trumpet instruction method books and studies of the great trumpet players throughout history, directly contradict what is taught within the trumpet departments at the most prestigious music schools throughout the world, including, but not limited to, the Julliard School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Boston Conservatory. Due to this conflict of theory and methodology, Mr. Callet remained a pariah for most of his career within the circles of the trumpet and brass music. However, his thousands of successful students in all styles of music from all over the world are a testament to his theories and teaching. Mr. Callet is survived by his second wife, Yumiko Morimoto, a former theater costume maker and designer, of Staten Island. Mr. Callet's first wife, Eleanor Wolfe Callet, passed away in 2003. Mr. Callet is survived by his brother, Richard Callet, of Pittsburgh (born 1937), his only sibling. Mr. Callet is also survived by his two children with his first wife, Toby Callet and Betsy Callet, both of Wellington, Fla.