Holiday Special! John Snell and Friends, The Other Side of the Bell Episode 148

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. Makers of the finest handcrafted #trumpet, #trombone & #frenchhorn mouthpieces since 1968.

Visit https://bobreeves.com to find your next mouthpiece and trumpet accessory! This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here: "The Other Side of the Bell Holiday Special 2025!"

Find the expanded show notes, transcript and more photos here:

https://bobreeves.com/blog/holiday-special-john-snell-and-friends-the-other-side-of-the-bell-148

John gets some good friends together to toast the end of one year, and the start of the next: it's our 2025 Holiday Special - perhaps the first annual? It was a lot of fun, so we might just start a new trend! Eric Baker, Mike Zonshine, Kenny Rampton, Liesl Whitaker and the voice of Vinnie Ciesielski are here to share some highlights of the year, musical and otherwise, and things to look forward to in the new year. Join us for a rousing conversation on such diverse topics as:

• Eric sharing his trick for playing a great horse neiiighhh on the trumpet, perhaps the bane of trumpet players' existence over the holidays.
• Mike's recent outdoor concert in Los Angeles, playing arrangements by none other than Keith Snell, John's dad.
• Kenny's holiday menu, centered around the Big Green Egg, might be a small reflection of a mid-life crisis?
• Liesl sharing some holiday family traditions in the Whitaker/Rampton household.

And a great update from the voice of Vinnie - he talks about his new Christmas album, the inspiring sight of hearing kindergarteners talk about Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, and the story behind the recording itself: forced at the last minute to go from a first-class studio to recording remotely. But they pulled it off in less than 30 days, just in time for Black Friday! There's a great shout out to Will Leathers, some fantastic trivia, everyone's favorite holiday songs to play, and some poignant and heartful wishes for the new year. Thank you to all our viewers and listeners for a great year, it's been a pleasure to bring you more episodes of The Other Side of the Bell in 2025, and we'll keep up the production in 2026. And don't forget to check out our partner podcasts, The Trombone Corner and The Horn Signal, including our Trombone Corner Holiday Episode, with John, co-host Noah Gladstone, and special guests Jay Friedman and Michael Dease

• The Trombone Corner Holiday Episode

Episode Guest Links:

• Eric Baker, Trumpets Mic'd Up
• Mike Zonshine
• Liesl Whitaker
• Kenny Rampton
• Vinnie Ciesieulski

Bob Reeves Brass Upcoming Events and Appearances:

• Trumpet Festival of the Southeast, Jan. 17, 2026, Kennesaw State University, Georgia
• Texas Music Educators Association Conference, Feb. 11-14 2026, San Antonio, Texas
• Dylan Music, Feb. 26-28, Woodbridge, New Jersey

Podcast Credits:

• "A Room with a View" - composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Podcast Host - John Snell
• Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg