Bruce Purse facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bruce Purse
Background information
Birth name	Bruce Clayton Purse
Born	Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, soul, R&B, blues, avant-garde jazz, hip hop soul, urban, reggae
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, writer, artist, producer
Labels	Next Plateau

Bruce Purse is a talented American musician, composer, and producer. He is also a singer, bandleader, and music teacher. Bruce plays many wind instruments, including the trumpet, pocket trumpet, and flugelhorn. He has performed with famous artists like Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, and Nas.

Bruce also leads his own music groups. One of his main bands is called Bruce Purse and the Pocketbooks. They play original songs in different styles, such as jazz, reggae, R&B, and heavy blues. Bruce sees himself as a "sound mentalist." This means he creates music using sound vibrations and frequencies. He makes music both with instruments and using computers. He also enjoys writing stories and plays.

Bruce Purse is the president of his own music company, bcpurse music.

Early Life and Education

Bruce Purse was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up listening to many kinds of music. He heard gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues, and country music on the radio, TV, and in church. When he was a teenager, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri.

Bruce discovered the trumpet at a school assembly in middle school. He started playing the trumpet in his teens at Sumner High School in St. Louis. He then went to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for his first college degree. Later, he earned his Master's degree in music education from Lehman College in New York City.

One of the first musicians who inspired Bruce was Louis Armstrong. Bruce heard him on the radio and TV, and this made him very interested in the trumpet.

Music Career and Teaching

Bruce Purse has performed as a musician with many groups. He played with Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy. His own band, Bruce Purse and the Pocketbooks, is an 11-piece big band. Famous musicians like Vincent Henry and Lonnie Plaxico have played in his band.

Bruce has written, arranged, and performed music for many well-known artists. These include Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Nas, and Faith Evans. He has also composed music for the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Besides performing, Bruce is also a music educator. He has taught music and given talks at many places. These include the New York City Board of Education, Lincoln Center Jazz, and the Harlem School of the Arts.

In 2018, Bruce appeared as himself in a TV documentary series called "Classic Albums." This episode was about Amy Winehouse's album "Back to Black."

In 2016, Bruce wrote a play called "The Band Room." It was about his own experiences learning music at Sumner High School in St. Louis. The play was performed at Lehman College in New York City. It takes place in 1968 during the Civil Rights Movement.

In 2019, Bruce Purse created the music for a film called "Rapid Deployment 'We Belong Network'." This film was shown at the Black International Cinema in Berlin, Germany.

Bruce is a member of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, also known as ASCAP. This group helps protect the rights of music creators.

Instruments Bruce Plays

Bruce Purse plays several instruments. These include the trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugel horn, baritone horn, bass trumpet, and French horn.

Music Recordings

Bruce Purse has worked on many music recordings. He has been a composer, producer, arranger, and musician for various albums.

As a Composer, Producer, Arranger & Musician

• 2018: The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles
• 2017: Elaborations/Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk
• 2005: Just Got Paid - Johnny Kemp
• 2001: Up Close and Personal - Angie Martinez (He played guitar, horn, and keyboards, and arranged music)
• 2000: Privacy - Ophélie Winter (Producer)
• 1993: Doin' It Now! - Sybil (Producer, Arranger, Composer)
• 1987: Secrets of Flying - Johnny Kemp (Producer, Arranger, Trumpet, Keyboards, Composer)
• 1996: Lay Down - Nalini (Producer, Programming)
• 1985: I Only Have Eyes for You - Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy (Trumpet)

As a Musician (Side Man)

Bruce has also played instruments for many other artists' albums:

• 2015: Amy Winehouse [The Original Soundtrack] (Trumpet, Flugel horn, Bass Trumpet)
• 2011: Lioness: Hidden Treasures - Amy Winehouse (Trumpet)
• 2011: I Remember Me - Jennifer Hudson (Bass, Trumpet)
• 2008: Remixed - Alicia Keys (Trumpet, Flugel horn)
• 2008: Nas - Nas (Horn, Background Vocals)
• 2007: Spirit - Leona Lewis (Trumpet, Flugelhorn)
• 2006: Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (Trumpet, Flugel horn)
• 2004: Street's Disciple - Nas (Trumpet, Flugel horn)
• 2003: Frank - Amy Winehouse (Trumpet, Flugel horn, Baritone Horn)
• 1995: Faith - Faith Evans (Trumpet)
• 1994: My Life - Mary J. Blige (Trumpet)

Record Labels

Bruce Purse has worked with several major record labels, including:

• CBS
• RCA
• Warner Brothers
• Atlantic Records
• Polygram
• BMG

He was also a staff writer for Warner Chappell Music Publishing.