The Original Boneheads, a.k.a. The St. Louis Trombone Quartet was founded in 1998, and have in the years since played art fairs, concerts, casinos, wineries and microbreweries, public schools, university ceremonies, private events, parades, museums, corporate events and many church services to glowing reviews.
Each of the players is conservatory trained, and experienced in musical settings from symphony orchestras to bar bands. This breadth of musical experience is reflected in the quartet's songlist, which comprises jazz and swing, marches, rock, doowop, classical, r&b, polkas, blues, ragtime, Americana, and more.
Let me tell you this: a gig with The Boneheads is not easy money. These players do things that trombonists are not asked to do in any other playing situation, not the least of which is to keep the horn up, and play A LOT more than usual. The endurance aspect alone is very challenging. There is no singer, no piano solo, no string section, and no anything else to give the chops a break, and let players mentally regroup. There is no drum set or chordal instrument of any kind to obscure mistakes, small or large. Its all out there, naked. One thing you can say about A Bonehead, is that he* is intrepid.
And then the styles - do you know any wind players who can play melody, accompaniment, and bass parts to swing, jazz, doowop, blues, classical (all periods), standards, Broadway, classic rock, Beatles, 60's bubble gum, marches, soul, film music, ragtime...(I could go on) I know of five, and they're all Boneheads.
Ok, I admit it, I'm proud of the group. So hire us. Often. Lots.
*St. Louis has an opening for a phat woman trombone player - any takers?
The players in our group are talented, busy people, much in demand to play their trombones throughout metropolitan St. Louis and beyond. Consequently, we have a pool of players that may play in the group on any particular occasion. Below is a little information about each of these accomplished musicians.
Head Bonehead Kurt Silver received a Bachelor of Music degree from Central Methodist College in 1980, and studied trombone with Stuart Dempster and Stephen Fissel in Seattle. He has travelled, performed with and arranged for a wide variety of name artists and jazz, swing, Latin, blues, and pop bands, pit and church orchestras in St. Louis and Seattle. Kurt is the group's primary arranger, and books the group.
Retired USAF Master Sergeant Tom Vincent attended the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin, and graduated magna cum laude in 1982 with a Bachelor of Music degree. In the St. Louis area, he works in the pit orchestras at the Fox Theater and Muny Opera, with the Sessions Jazz Band, and frequently performs at Christ Church Cathedral.
Bass trombonist Steve Wyatt graduated from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1998 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Business. He is the proprietor of Midwest Musical Instrument Services in Alton, IL. In addition to playing with The Boneheads since 2000, Steve is a freelance musician in the St. Louis area, performing with such notable musicians as The Manhattan Transfer, Bobby Shew, and The Maynard Ferguson Alumni Band.
St. Louis-based trombonist and perfesser Matt Hoormann earned his Baccalaureate and Masters Degrees in Music Performance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and graduated with his Doctorate of Musical Arts from University of California Los Angeles. Matt has performed with The San Diego Symphony Pops Orchestra featuring Lou Rawls, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra low brass section, the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, Doc Severinsen, Louis Bellson, Allen Vizzutti, among many other notable artists and ensembles. In addition to three recordings with the SIUE Wind Symphony, Matt can also be heard on the Jim Widner Big Band's 2007 release entitled "Out of This World" as well as Lorenzo Trujillo's Soul Circus's 2009 disc "Playing With Fire". Matt currently teaches at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
Twig Sargent is active as a free lance trombonist in the St. Louis area. In addition to regularly performing with The Original Boneheads, has recently performed with ensembles including American Kantorei, the Webster University Symphony Orchestra and Choral Society, and as substitute/extra trombonist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his relocation to the St. Louis area, he was a member (1999-2007) of the U.S. Naval Academy Band, as trombone soloist, performing across the country, as well as freelancing in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. He is currently pursuing Master of Divinity studies at Covenant Theological Seminary in preparation for ordination into pastoral ministry and lives with his family in Maplewood, Missouri.
Players get jobs in other towns and move away (or just move away), have families and need to make decisions about how they spend their time, or for whatever reasons, move on from the Boneheads. Let me acknowledge their contributions to the group here.
Perfesser David Bruenger, Bonehead Emeritus and charter member, now resides in San Antonio, TX throughout the academic year, where he is professor of trombone and administers the adjunct faculty of the music program at the University of Texas, San Antonio. When in St. Louis, Dave plays in the pit orchestras at the Municipal Opera and Fox Theater, and with the Boneheads on occasion.
Trombonist Tom Kamp, 2nd Assistant Charter Bonehead in charge of Intranational Affairs, Eastern Seaboard Region, has performed, toured and recorded with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and played for ten years with the St. Louis Brass Ensemble. After relocating to Northern New Jersey, Tom was a featured soloist with the Jordan Thomas Orchestra at the 2002 NJ JazzFest in Madison, NJ and is the founder, leader, and chief arranger and composer for the ACME BRASS CO. Tom was also the producer of ACME BRASS’s first CD, entitled “X-MAS X-ING” which was released in 2004. Tom has played in Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and on the beach at the Atlantic Ocean with a symphony orchestra conducted by a priest in combat fatigues. (It’s a Jersey thing.)
Trombonist Steve Wills - please phone home Steve, and tell me what you'd like to see here. Or, come play with us again!
Steve Hoover holds a B.A. in Music Education from SIUE. He taught music in the U.City and Ritenour schools for 17 years before deciding to become a full-time musician, producer, composer and arranger. Steve’s arrangements have been published by Clarus Music, and a children’s musical, co-written with his wife Kathy, was published by McGraw-Hill. Steve has been playing professionally since 1974 and has performed on trombone with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Fox Theatre Orchestra, the Webster University Brass Quintet and many other St. Louis area professional groups. The Boneheads enjoy playing several of Steve's arrangements.
Steven Frioux was born in New Iberia, LA (the heart of Cajun Country) and received his Bachelors from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He moved to the St. Louis area after joining the USAF Band of Mid-America in 1990 as Lead/Solo trombone. Steve also served in that capacity in Europe with the USAFE Jazz Ambassadors and performed for live audiences in 19 countries. He currently performs with the Sessions Big Band every Monday night at BB's and is a frequent guest with local latin/salsa bands El Caribe Tropicale and Solucion Latina.
Greg Hamilton received a B.M and a M.M. from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He is currently a band teacher in the Parkway and Francis Howell school districts. He is the past conductor/commander of the Missouri Air National Guard Band stationed in St. Louis. In addition to the Boneheads, Greg plays with Yessir, the Parkway Brass Quintet, and as a freelance musician in St. Louis.
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