BILLINGS — Blayze Mockel’s music tastes are well beyond his years.
“I listen to Wynton Marsalis, or I listen to Chet Baker. Miles Davis,” said the Billings Skyview senior.
But it wasn’t always that way. No, Mockel’s trumpet inspiration came from a very different place.
“I heard the song, ‘Trumpets,’” Mockel said, referring to the 2013 single by pop artist Jason Derulo which prominently features the instrument. “I don’t know what popped in my 5th grade brain, but that’s what I wanted to do.”
Like most 5th graders, it wasn’t the smoothest start.
“He struggled at first and had to work really hard,” said Tak Engle, Mockel’s band director at Castle Rock Middle School. “But he got better and better and had the attitude to not quit.”
The attitude, and another song in his head.
“I wanted to play the Star Wars main theme song,” Mockel admitted. “That’s what kept me pushing.”
He figured that one out, and then got a lot better in a hurry.
“Night and day,” Engle said. “When he was an 8th grader, I never would have told him (this), but he could outplay me.”
Mockel has earned numerous awards and honors: All-State, Tri-M Music Honor Society, things you’d expect from a player of his caliber. What you might not expect is that as much time as he devotes to playing…
“Trumpet is 90% of my time,” he admitted.
His favorite part might be teaching others. Mockel has been teaching younger students all throughout high school, through the Arts Without Boundaries mentoring program.
“I really enjoy teaching, especially that 1-on-1 aspect,” he said. “You get to see them take it in and internalize it and do it. That’s really awesome.”
He’ll be a music teacher someday - the fully-licensed version. Engle never had any doubt.
“Coldplay recently put out a song called, ‘All My Love,’” Engle said. “In the song he says (love) is the ability to care for the welfare of others as much as you care about yourself. Blayze and his sister are the type. I could not want anything better for them than to succeed and be great humans.”
Mission accomplished.