By Matthew Longhurst
When the Provo-born Brunson brothers took interest in trumpet lessons at an early age, their father thought he’d teach them a lesson of his own.
He enrolled them in an intensive two-week BYU summer course designed to quickly exhaust their newfound infatuation, Arlan Brunson, one of the four brothers, said.
He didn’t mind encouraging musical talent – he was more concerned with wasting money on unappreciated lessons, Arlan said.
Their father’s plan backfired, however, and a life-long passion for the instrument took root in brothers Arlan, Gaynor, Raland and Deron Brunson from their elementary school years, Arlan said.
More than 20 years have passed since that fateful summer, and the brothers have begun to make Brunson into a well-known name on the national jazz/variety scene.
The four have made high-profile performing and recording into an avid enterprise in recent years.
According to their Web-site, they made over 150 guest-star appearances with Liberace on his US/Canada tour, and have also appeared with Bob Hope, Pat Boone, Mel Torme, Sylvester Stalone, Steven Spielberg, Dick Clark, Steve Martin, Dick Van Dyke and many others.
Merv Griffin, Regis Philbin, George Burns and Johnny Carson are among a growing group that has welcomed the Brunsons on over 30 national television appearances, Arlan said.
After serving missions, the brothers settled in Los Angeles and opened their own recording studio, Arlan said.
They were able to record the album “Primal Magic” for Strunz and Farah, a new group that quickly topped Billboard’s jazz charts, Arlan said.
After their successful venture in Los Angeles, the group has come back home to bring their recording savvy and cutting-edge equipment to Utah Valley, Arlan said.
Arlan said the brothers want to promote the large amount of instrumental talent they know exists in the area.
The brothers will premiere for SCERA’s Encore Season at Mountain View High School on Oct 19 at 7:30 p.m. to give local residents a preview of their music April Wetzel, foundation director at SCERA said.
They plan to begin a weekly talent show soon in an effort to expose talented musicians in the area, Arlan said.
He said he hopes the show will generate material for the brother’s new studio at SCERA as well as a television variety program.
For more performance and ticket information, contact the SCERA at 225-ARTS.
