Throughout his distinguished career, Marvin Stamm has been praised for both the art and the craft of trumpet playing. Leonard Feather stated that Mr. Stamm is an accomplished performer whose technical skill is used as a means to stimulating original ends.
     While attending North Texas State University, a school noted for its innovative lab bands, Mr. Stamm was discovered by Stan Kenton. After graduation, he joined Kenton's orchestra as his Jazz trumpet soloist, touring with him in 1961-1962 recording five albums with the orchestra. In 1965-1966, he toured worldwide with Woody Herman.
     Settling in New York in late 1966, Marvin Stamm quickly established himself as a busy Jazz and studio trumpeter. New York was bustling with jazz activity during that period, and Stamm performed at key venues with many of the significant players in the business. He was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Duke Pearson's Big Band and the Benny Goodman Sextet among others. As a recognized studio player, he recorded with: Bill Evans, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Duke Pearson, Thad Jones, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Patrick Williams, Michel Legrand, Frank Foster, Paul Desmond, George Benson and many more.
     With the advent of orchestral arrangements in Rock, Mr. Stamm recorded with such artists as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin and James Brown as well as such legends as Barbra Streisand and Lena Horn.
     Marvin Stamm's first solo album, Machinations, on Verve, was composed and arranged by Jazz legend, John Carisi. After touring for several years with Frank Sinatra, he recorded Stammpede in 1982 which heralded his re-dedication to a solo Jazz career.
     Eschewing the lucrative studio scene, Mr. Stamm has focused his attention on his first love, playing Jazz. Since that time, he has been a member of John Lewis' American Jazz Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Band, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Louis Bellson's big band and/or quintet and, on many occasions, performed with the big band of composer Maria Schneider.
     Currently, Mr. Stamm's activities include performing as a soloist, touring with his Jazz quartet and in duo with pianist Bill Mays. He has embarked on a new venture, that of performing with symphony orchestras throughout the country and abroad. He continues to maintain his ties with George Gruntz' Concert Jazz Band, and, when time permits also travels with other all-star units.
     A new project with Milwaukee Symphony trumpeter Dennis Najoom is also coming to fruition. It is a Jazz/classical duo in which they will perform compositions commissioned especially for them with orchestra or wind symphony that will feature them in various musical environments that will bring to the fore the depth of their musical experience.
     Consciously acknowledging his debt to the influence and guidance of former teachers and fellow musicians, Marvin Stamm also commits a good deal of his time and energies to helping young music students develop their own voices. His involvement in Jazz education takes him to universities and high schools across the U.S. and abroad as a performer, clinician and mentor, perpetuating the traditions of excitement and innovation that Jazz represents.
     In late August, 2000, Mr. Stamm will be releasing two new CDs. The first, a duo CD, By Ourselves, documents Mr. Stamm's long-time collaboration with pianist Bill Mays and will present eleven tracks among which are Victor Young's "Beautiful Love", "You And The Night And The Music", Sonny Rollins' "Airegin" and Dizzy's lovely "Con Alma".
     The second CD to be released, The Stamm/Soph Project, is a quartet setting created with drummer Ed Soph that features bassist Rufus Reid and pianist Bill Mays; saxophonist Dave Liebman also guests on three tracks. This endeavor contains ten compostions which include Thad Jones' classic, "Three and One", Miles Davis' beautiful masterwork, "Nardis" and Clifford Brown's eternal "Joy Spring".
     In 1991, Marvin Stamm recorded Bop Boy, which features Bob Mintzer on tenor sax, Terry Clarke on drums, Phil Markowitz on piano and Lincoln Goines on bass. Mystery Man was released in the summer of 1993, and also features Mintzer and Clarke, but this time in the company of bassist Mike Richmond and young piano wizard Bill Charlap.
     The critical response to Stamm's work in the 90's has been highly enthusiastic. Downbeat reported that Stamm has a gorgeous tone on the trumpet and flugelhorn, and he flies through the changes. JazzTimes said that the Memphis native has chops and talent in abundance. He can burn on bebop changes, or mellow out on a ballad, all the time maintaining the lucid consistency that enthusiasm and experience engenders. Mr. Stamm is a performing artist and clinician for Boosey & Hawkes Musical Instruments, Inc. and designs and performs on the French Besson trumpet; he also plays the new French Besson flugelhorn, the "Laureat".