Kevin Ray Clark

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Musician, Trumpeter
Tags
Grammy Awards, Yamaha Corporation of America, Signature Model, Trumpets, Cornets, Mouthpieces, Circus, Disney, NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians), New Orleans LA, Jazz, Valve Oil, Virtual Interview, Cartoon Music, Pete Fountain

Kevin Ray Clark grew up with music in his home and played in a family band at church. He was inspired by the musicians playing at Disney World and pursued the trumpet in his school band program. As he got older, Kevin started playing with the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. As his skills improved, he worked his way up to become one of the musicians he used to look up to and started playing at Disney World. After ten years working in the theme park, Kevin moved to New Orleans where he joined The Dukes of Dixieland and got to play alongside Pete Fountain, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and the New Orleans Nightcrawlers Brass Band (who recently won a Grammy Award). Kevin can be seen in Episode 635 of The Simpsons playing alongside Lisa Simpson – how cool! In recent years, Kevin has developed his own line of valve oil and continues to play music in the New Orleans area.