Michael Eaton

Laurie Frink was a kind of guru to a whole community of NYC trumpet players, including many well known names. Not only her mastery of the art of trumpet but also her dedication to her students inspired great love from them, and in certain cases she literally saved careers. My friend, trumpeter Jon Crowley, is quoted in this article about her: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2013/07/17/203019606/remembering-laurie-frink-the-trumpet-mother-of-the-jazz-scene One juicy anecdote that Crowley related to me from a lesson with Laurie was about Freddie Hubbard. Freddie made at least two appointments to see Laurie, but for whatever reason he never showed. On one occasion, he was playing at the Vanguard and asked Laurie to come see him. After struggling through the set, he announced on mic, "This is the person who is going to fix me!" Laurie told Jon, "I know exactly what to do to fix him. He just won't come in."