The Player: Interview with Trevor Mires

Trevor Mires’ playful sense of humour is immediately apparent as he tells me that apart from playing the trombone, “I also play the ‘catastraphone’, (he’s referring to the sousaphone), tuba, bass trumpet, the ‘pandemonium’, (his nickname for the euphonium), the baritone horn, and, if the money is really good, the spoons!”

Growing up, Mires remembers his parents' love of music: “They'd play a lot of stuff around the house. They have fairly eclectic tastes; my dad likes a lot of US West Coast jazz: Shelley Manne, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz… I used to enjoy hearing his MJQ records. My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I’m not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard ‘Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime’.”

The first instrument that fell into Mires’ hands was the cello.

“I was around the age of eight. But I could only make it sound like synthetic tinnitus. It was the same with the trombone, but I absolutely loved playing it, so I stuck with that one.”

Mires was fortunate to be able to receive both lessons at school, as well as private ones: “At the time the state supported the arts for all, and free music education – instrumental, choir, bands, orchestras – were provided in all state schools in London. There is no way that I would have a life and career in music had it not been for this provision at state level.

"I was also lucky to have the eminent bass trombonist, Phil Brown, as peripatetic brass tutor at my school. Phil is a legend, and has played with everybody… including Sinatra. He was a motivated, fun, but strict, teacher.”

Throughout his teenage years Mires played in various school bands and orchestras.

“I also attended the Centre for Young Musicians, and was taught by Malcolm Frammingham. Malcolm was a warm and friendly teacher with a great sense of humour, and very inspiring. Being a member of The London Schools Symphony Orchestra was a particular highlight. For example, we got the opportunity to perform with jazz/classical pianist, comedian and actor, Dudley Moore (performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue). We also toured Spain and Japan.”

Mires also went out to lots of jam sessions: “I would make a three-hour round trip to attend the Weekend Arts College jazz classes each Sunday, run by Ian Carr and Tim Whitehead.”

All this dedication and effort finally delivered, culminating in Trevor gaining a place at Trinity, and then the Royal College of Music.

So which trombones has he played over the years?

“I originally played a little baritone horn, and then I had a Blessing small bore trombone. The slide was so stiff that my lips would often be bruised and sometimes cut from bashing the slide towards my face!

"Later on, I received a grant to purchase a Conn 88H when I was a teenager. This was the orchestral ‘standard’ instrument. However, I never really enjoyed playing on it. I eventually bought a small bore ‘commercial’ horn – also a Conn, a 100H. I got it lacquered black and it looked crazy cool. However, the lacquer made the horn sound like playing a plastic vuvuzela! I eventually met with Michael Rath, and I now play a customised R10 small bore (my main horn), with an extra-heavy counterweight.”

He also owns an R4 large bore trombone, and an R9 bass trombone: “They are all beautifully crafted, and Rath trombones can be tailored to the individual. This not only allows for the player to have a ‘bespoke’ instrument; it also enables a player of an existing instrument to tweak their set up should they wish to. I definitely can’t ever blame my instruments for a poor performance, only myself!

“The R10 is totally versatile.It allows me to play with a warm sound, bright and zingy, quiet, loud (mainly loud!), and the slides are simply the best that I have ever played. As a doubling instrument, the R9 bass trombone is extremely responsive, which makes moving from tenor to bass trombone during a performance very comfortable.”

And how about mouthpieces?

“When I first started playing a small bore horn, the shop gave me a mouthpiece and said, ‘try this’. It’s a Schilke 47B (I think it was originally a baritone horn mouthpiece). I’ve tried others over the years, but I always end up going back to this. It's comfy!”

Any pedals?

”I have experimented with lots of pedals, boards, laptop effects, but my general electric set up is very simple. I use a Digitech Whammy Pedal, which has chorus, and some simple interval harmonising. I have a few Donner pedals (reverb, distortion, auto-wah), and an MXR delay pedal. I also enjoy using a TC Electronic Quintessence Harmonizer Pedal.”

Mires cites many different influences that have shaped both him and his playing over the years: “Rico Rodriguez was a big influence early on, then there was hip-hop and Fred Wesley, Kool and the Gang…”

But perhaps none more so than the trombonist Clifford Adams, who Mires first heard playing on Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones albums: “And I eventually got to hang out with him and jam with him!”

This feature originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Jazzwise – Subscribe to Jazzwise today