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Bruce Purse is an American musician, composer, producer, vocalist, bandleader, arranger, performer, music educator, and guest lecturer. Proficient at various wind instruments, including the trumpet, pocket trumpet, bass trumpet, and flugelhorn, Purse has performed with many well known artists, such as Lester Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Faith Evans, Nas, Leona Lewis, and Johnny Kemp. He has also assembled large ensembles from a 11-piece bands to 30 piece orchestras, including his premiere ensemble called Bruce Purse and the Pocketbooks. The band performs originals in various genres such as; jazz, reggae, R&B, and heavy blues.[1][2]
Purse describes himself as a sound mentalist. A mentalist practices Mentalism one who creates sound vibrations, music, and frequencies that create music. He creates music acoustically and digitally. In addition, he writes stories and plays.
Purse was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up listening to music on the radio, television, and in church. Bruce was exposed to gospel music, jazz, spirituals, rhythm and blues, and country music. He moved to St Louis as an adolescent. Bruce was introduced to the trumpet and instrumental music at an assembly performance at his Middle School in St Louis, Missouri.
Purse started at an early age in his teens at Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri with William Paul Overbey. He attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for his Baccalaureate Degree. He completed Masters work at Columbia University, ultimately receiving his Master's degree from Lehman College in music education in New York City.[3]
One of his earliest influences in music growing up was Louis Armstrong, who he heard on the radio and television and who inspired his fascination with the trumpet.[4]
Bruce is a music educator and guest lecturer. He has been an artist-in-residence with the New York City Board of Education, with Lincoln Center Jazz with Wynton Marsalis, LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, New School for Social Research, and the Harlem School of the Arts.
In 2018, Bruce portrayed himself in the Classic Albums (TV Series documentary) Amy Winehouse: Back to Black.
In 2016, Purse wrote the play "The Band Room" about his musical educational experience at Sumner High School, in St. Louis, Mo. His teachers were William Paul Overbey and Ken Billups. The play was produced and directed by the Susan Watson Turner, and performed at Lehman College, in the Bronx, New York City. The play takes place in the late 1968 in St. Louis during the Civil Rights Movement.[11][12]
In 2019, Bruce Purse composed and produced the music for the narrative film entitled Rapid Deployment 'We Belong Network'. It was screened in 2019 at the Black International Cinema in Berlin, Germany.[13]
