Recommended Reading
With trumpet being a technically demanding instrument in the first place, one of the most important aspects of the instrument is producing a good sound. Great trumpet players throughout the history of jazz have all had a distinctive sound - whether you're listening to Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard or current artists such as Enrico Rava, Arve Henriksen, Dave Douglas or Peter Evans, one of their defining features is the sound they make on their instrument. For any player this is something that takes great care and focus as well as experimentation and curiosity, in finding the sound and tonal qualities that can be produced by oneself and the instrument.
As regards to time... having 'good time' is something musicians often talk about. This means having an absolute sense of where you want to place a sound within a space of time. Whether it's a crotchet downbeat or an off-beat semi-quaver, having a real sense of exactly where you want to place the note is arguably the most important aspect of playing music. Time-feels may also vary according to a player's feel as well as the style of music they're playing. Lee Morgan may lay back on a phrase more than say Clifford Brown when improvising. Similarly, playing a horn line on a Stevie Wonder tune would require a different feel to playing on a Balkan folk tune.
All of these things refer to intent. A great solo will have been played with absolute intent which requires a huge amount of focus and may also require a certain degree of technical and musical fluency. If a player plays a solo in which he or she plays with uttermost intent then not a single note will have gone to waste - regardless of personal tastes and preferences. This takes a lot of mental focus, which can take time to develop. Great players will strive for this level of focus whenever they perform. When they are able to obtain such a deep sense of time, space and creativity - that's when music is capable of transcending the explicable and communicates on a level beyond anything we can describe with words.
Miles Davis - Straight No Chaser, album: Milestones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthTtLZINHQ&feature=related
Peter Evans/Nate Wooley live duo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvASERsLt-g
Arve Henriksen - album: Chiaroscuro. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_x4ZuK5flQ
