Charlie Carr has carved out an impressive career as a versatile trumpet player, equally accomplished in big band, commercial, and small group settings.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music , Carr performs lead trumpet with a number of big bands in the WNY region, including the Western New York Big Band, the Innovation Jazz Orchestra, and the Dave Rivello Ensemble. As a first-call musician in upstate New York he has had the opportunity to perform with many of the great nationally-touring broadway and commercial shows of the past decade, as well as touring internationally with various ensembles. His passion and ability to lead an ensemble as a director and lead trumpet player has been heard across the country, with recent appearances at the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Eastman School of Music, and multiple Jazz Education Network conferences.

Research interests are highly diverse, include radio music of the early 1900’s, Indian music and its influence on jazz musicians of the 50’s and 60’s, and the evolution of jazz criticism in popular literature. Charlie maintains an active research role with the Capitol Records Archive, containing over 10,000 original manuscripts from the golden era of recording.

Outside of performance and research, Charlie maintains a strong commitment to furthering music education and preserving the jazz tradition. He served as assistant faculty at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin for almost a decade, providing masterclasses, private instruction, and ensemble direction to middle school and high school aged students. Charlie's research with the Capitol Records Archive has led to presentations at multiple national conferences, advocating for the preservation, accessibility, and performance of the classic big band repertoire by the rising generation.

Charlie has performed with such artists as Bill Holman, John McNeely, the John La Barbera Big Band, Dave Liebman, Tanya Darby, Don Menza, Bill Kirtchner, David Glaspar, Dennis Macrell, Clay Jenkins, Harold Danko, Bill Dobbins, Ray Ricker, Scott Healy, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Jon Faddis, Johnny Mathis, David Paich, Clarence Hines, Reggie Thomas, Jeff Campbell, Charles Pillow, Dave Rivello, Rich Thompson, Carl Allen, Marquis Hill, Derrik Gardner, and many others.

Charlie holds a DMA in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music, where he also earned a degree in Music Theory.