are you feeling horny, baby?

The Sharp Things are proud of our tradition of great horn players. With the recent arrival of trumpeter Pierre de Gaillande, as well as Brad Madsen’s first anniversary as a Sharpie, we thought it a good opportunity to spotlight our current and former brassmen.

Pierre de Gaillande (trumpet)
Pierre was born in Paris and raised in California. Before forming the band Melomane in 1998, he played in San Diego legends Bunji Thump, Skinbus, and Creedle (Cargo/Headhunter), bass in Film Star (Supercottonmouth) and Morning Glories (Cargo), and guitar in C Gibbs Group (Atlantic), with whom he recently toured the U.S. playing drums, trumpet, and guitar. He recently backed up Vic Chesnutt on some New York dates, playing trumpet, keyboards and guitar.

Pierre also composes music for films and dance; he composed the score for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox directed by Sara Lamm, as well as a documentary about The Danielson Famile directed by JL Aronson. His latest side project, Sea Foxx has a new album out called Dead in the Water.

Bradley Madsen (trombone, euphonium)
Originally from Minnesota, Brad has studied under some of the top names in jazz and contemporary music including Bobby Sanabria, Benny Powell, Art Baron, Armen Donelian, Andy Mckee, and Jimmy Owens, Luis Bonilla, and Ku-Umba Frank Lacy. Some notable performances before his move to New York include appearances with the George Maurer Group at the Dakota Bar and Grill and the Hot Summer Jazz Festival and performing with the Minneapolis Trombone Choir.

As a past member of Foxy Moon Baby, he has played gigs in such notable venues as Sarah Street Grill in Stroudsburg, PA, Downtime in Manhattan, Da Funky Phish in Long Island, The Shadd Festival in Lambertville, PA, Mayfair Festival for the Arts in Allentown, PA, and the Oasis Cafe in New Paltz, NY. His current projects include the Oort Cloud Collective, a Brooklyn-based funk/rock group that he co-founded with guitarist Braden Palmer, and his straight-ahead jazz group, the Bradley Madsen Quartet.

Andrew Hoglund (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Portland, OR, native Andrew was a touring member of The Sharp Things for two years and is the featured horn player on Foxes & Hounds. Now based in New York City, his current projects include Fambadjian, a new group comprised of improvising musicians from all around the globe; and NewCoastCrap with his brother, Colin.

Brian McWhorter (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Our first horn player, Brian is now assistant professor of trumpet and jazz Studies at Louisiana State University. McWhorter performs, composes, and improvises contemporary music as a solo artist and in groups such as the Meridian Arts Ensemble, the film-accompanying After Quartet, and the percussion-trumpet duo Endy Emby. He was a founding member of Extension Ensemble, an award-winning brass quintet responsible for numerous commissions of progressive composers. Brian plays on our debut album, Here Comes The Sharp Things.

Leif Arntzen
An old friend, Leif has performed with The Sharp Things on numerous occasions and has long been considered an unofficial member of our little gang. Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, and based in New York, Leif leads his own band, The Leif Arntzen Band, which released its debut LP, tlab, in 2003. He’s worked with numerous artists, including Cowboy Junkies, the Gil Evans Orchestra, and Richard Barone.

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