John Madrid (1948 - February 1990) was a jazz and pop trumpet player, active mainly from the 1960s to the 1980s. He is noted for his remarkable accuracy and power in the upper register (which led to him being hired mostly to play lead or scream trumpet) but he was also capable of playing tasteful jazz solos in the middle register.
Madrid grew up in an east Los Angeles suburb, Montebello, California, graduating from Montebello High School in 1966. His first popular high note recording to hit the charts was in the 1966 pop hit "Time Won't Let Me" by The Outsiders.
He went on to play and/or record with such artists as Stan Kenton (1967–1969), Woody Herman (1969–1970), Buddy Rich (1970–1971), Harry James (1972–1973), Louie Bellson (1973–1974), Blood Sweat & Tears (1973–1974), Toshiko Akiyoshi (1974–1976), Boz Scaggs (1975–1979), Paul Cacia (1979–1980), Donna Summers (1980), Elton John, Sonny & Cher, and Wayne Newton, with whom he spent many years performing in Las Vegas.
Madrid's teachers include lead trumpeter Conrad Gozzo, famed LA teacher and player James Stamp, embouchure expert Donald Reinhardt, and high note trumpeter Bud Brisbois. He was not officially a teacher but did informally teach trumpet technique to many players, including trumpeter Paul Cacia, who frequently mentions Madrid in interviews.
John Madrid died of advanced HIV. Several sources have confirmed that he lived an "alternative" lifestyle. Madrid's death was a surprise to many of his constituents, his sense of humor and 2 liter of Pepsi is missed in the studio. Cacia,Hoise,and Anderson (sources)
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“But I’m his poor shepherd, as plain you may see,
That am come to beg pardon for him and for me.””
—Unknown. King John and the Abbot of Canterbury (l. 99–100)