Listen to this interview with trumpeter, composer, and improviser Nicole Rampersaud. We discuss the 100 muscles it takes to play the trumpet, how not having shows can lead to beautiful recordings, song-length as a thing, the hermit thrush, responding to glitches, granular pedals, and more. Nicole also recommends lots of great listening: Nate Wooley, Eve Egoyan and Mauricio Pauly, and dragonchild.
I love the sound of trumpet played quietly, looped, layered and messed with. Fans of Jon Hassell will know what I’m saying here. Psychedelic landscapes of gentle crackle. Well if you like those textures, you’ll appreciate what Rampersaud is doing. Her music is very much her own, though, and it too crackles with technical mastery, sensitivity, and somehow an audible a sense of care for the trumpet and for soundmaking, coupled with a willingness to break things and see what happens.
Nicole Rampersaud is a trumpet player, composer, and improviser whose work spans jazz, experimental music, noise, and site-specific composition. Known for her attentive listening and collaborative approach, she has worked across a wide range of musical communities internationally. Her music often responds to environment, context, and the people involved, reflecting an interest in exploring connections between different creative practices.
She has collaborated with artists including Anthony Braxton, Joe Morris, Ra-kalam Bob Moses, and Sandro Perri. Her primary projects include Brass Knuckle Sandwich with pianist Marilyn Lerner, a duo with guitarist Joel LeBlanc, and the trio c_RL with Allison Cameron and Germaine Liu. Her debut solo album, Saudade, received nominations for Instrumental Recording of the Year (ECMA) and Innovator of the Year (MusicNB). In 2024, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition. Learn more at Nicole’s website.
