THERE was a time in Jamaican music when the ‘hornsman’ was revered. He was usually the musical director during recording sessions or on tour.

Only 25 years old, trumpeter Okiel McIntyre is seeking to establish himself as a musician and revive the horn player’s fortunes in Jamaican music.

A graduate of Edna Manley School of the Visual and Performing Arts, he has been recording professionally since 2018. One of the latest projects he contributed to is Flat Bridge, an album by saxophonist Dean Fraser, reggae’s premier hornsman.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, McIntyre acknowledged the difficulty horn players have in securing steady work.

“A horn player will have to present his/herself as a capable player first, which includes being able to grasp phrases quickly, replicate the idea, capture the feeling of the music and execute it efficiently, as time is a factor to consider. When in studio, time equals money, therefore those skills are paramount in this area,” he stressed.

Typical of brass musicians, Montegonian McIntyre’s biggest influences are jazz greats like Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard and Christian Scott. He admires Fraser and drummer Desi Jones among Jamaican musicians.

In the past 30 years Fraser has been a dominant force in Jamaican music as a session man and on tour. For Flat Bridge, he brought in McIntyre and other young musicians like keyboardist Andrew Marsh to help develop and expose their skills.

“It was a pleasure working alongside Uncle Dean. The experience he has in expressing himself through his horn is spectacular, and it makes me aspire to get to that level,” said McIntyre, whose growing credits include songs like Same Prayer by Chronixx, I Am A Jamaican (Buju Banton), Call to Duty by Beres Hammond, and albums by Shaggy (Hot Shot 2020) and Tarrus Riley (Healing).

In the 1960s and 1970s the hornsman held sway in ska, rocksteady and reggae. Saxophonists Tommy McCook, Headley Bennett, Herman Marquis and Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall; trumpeters Bobby Ellis, Sonny Bradshaw and David Madden; and trombonist Vin Gordon, acted as mentors for new wave players like Fraser, Chico Chin and Nambo Robinson.

With computers coming to the fore during the 1980s the horn player gradually drifted from the studio set-up, though they have made a comeback in recent times.

While he loves recording, McIntyre would love to go on the road and play live.

“As it relates to touring, this is all about repetition and memorisation, which requires similar skills, but this is all about reproduction of what is already recorded. So, I would say there is a level of difficulty to be a touring or recording horn player,” he said.