About Soulo Mute
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Soulo Mute is designed and handcrafted by Mike Jarosz, a professional trumpet player who has performed and recorded with a diverse group of artists including Maynard Ferguson, LL Cool J, Los Lonely Boys, Frankie Valli, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and others. Currently, Mike is touring with "The Midtown Men", a 60's review show featuring the original NY cast of Broadway's Jersey Boys.
Soulo began as a serendipitous story about 15 years ago, when young trumpeter Jarosz tried an old Finch mute and fell in love with its sound. It was introduced to him by a good friend and trumpet player George Rabbai. In the years that followed, Mike never found a mute that impressed him as much, with its cool velvety sound and easiness to play. And he tried many, pretty much every mute out there.
In November of 2008, after rigorously practicing for an upcoming performance, Mike blew his neck out and was unable to play for 3 months. As any professional, who makes a living solely as a performer, he got worried about the future of his trumpet-playing career. In the healing months, Mike began to create what is now Soulo Mute and had the first prototype ready for testing.
Mike called up some of his professional trumpet player friends, including Jay Webb (from the demo video), for feedback and to test the prototype. After trying it out, they all agreed that it sounded like a "soulful" bucket, but was much easier and more fun to play. The name "Soulo" was chosen because they thought it had an abundance of soulfulness and is perfect for a soloist.
In December of 2011, Soulo Group launched 2 trombone versions. Soulo Mute is currently being sold on 5 continents - North & South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Brass musicians from around the world are abandoning their less practical old buckets and replacing them with Soulo.
