Renowned trumpeter, band leader, director of Motown’s brass section, and co-founder of the Michigan Jazz Festival, it’s safe to say Johnny Trudell was one of the main innovators behind the soul and swing of Motown as well as the heartbeat of Detroit’s jazz community.

Trudell attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, the alma mater of some of Detroit’s greatest musicians and the place Trudell would further develop his natural talent for the trumpet with rigorous training, discipline, and exposure to both classical and jazz.

By his early teens, he was leading his own band as well as showing precocious command of arrangement and leadership.

The 1940s and 1950s were iconic decades in Detroit music history, a time period that saw the young Trudell taking in everything from swing to bebop to rhythm and blues in a city where musicianship was both a craft and a competition.

It would be these early experiences that would go on to shape his career and tendency to transition between genres.

Trudell was a focal part of the Motown machine in the early 1960s, but he was more than just another talented trumpet player.

He also directed the brass section and oversaw musicians while they rehearsed, making sure that horn arrangements had the punch and polish to make local hits world-anthems.

In fact, it’s thanks to his leadership that the music world has greats like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, and many others.

Trudell was a sideman turned leader, the man that gave Motown its sharp, brassy edge and helped mold its soulful energy into pop universality.

Always open to exploring new sounds, his album “Dream Dance” in 1979 saw him briefly venturing into jazz, followed by “But Beautiful” just a little over a decade later in 1993, which showcased his expressive trumpet playing.

That said, Trudell’s deepest impact on the music world came as a bandleader for the Johnny Trudell Orchestra, which would go on to become the standard for corporate events, touring artists, and jazz enthusiasts, affording Trudell with a very successful career beyond just performing.

A man with a deep appreciation for stewardship, he established the Michigan Jazz Festival in 1995, an annual event that brought new ears to Detroit’s jazz scene.

A teacher and mentor to younger musicians, he was always there to provide his peers with technical advice and professional wisdom, quietly changing careers through encouragement and example.

In the late 2010s, Trudell was named a Detroit Jazz Festival Legacy Artist, a legacy that lives on in every Motown horn line, every swing chart played by his big band, and in every young musician whose career he’s had a positive influence on.

Sadly, Trudell passed away in 2021 at the age of 82, leaving behind more than just recordings and arrangements, but a community of mourning musicians united by his leadership as well as a city with a musical soundscape that was greatly enhanced by his trumpet.

To put it simply, he wasn’t just another great musician…he was a builder of horn lines, festivals, ensembles, and community.

The trumpet was merely his instrument – his real gift was creating space for others to shine within.

For Detroit, Trudell was a steady hand, a musical architect who will never be forgotten for his lasting impact on the city that shaped him.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 27, 2025