Trumpeter Lew Soloff holds to the following maxim: "One note is a thousand words."

And that's what he will bring to the University of Pittsburgh's jazz seminar, which runs through Saturday evening's concert.

Soloff, a New York City native who was raised in Lakewood, N.J., admits that he isn't one to stand in front of a chalkboard and tell students how -- or even what -- to play.

"Our goal is to try to inspire them with our playing," Soloff says. "I don't think anyone teaches anything -- we have to inspire the student to teach himself."

As for his musical strength, "My specialty is improvisation, and everyone has his method of improvising," Soloff says. "I think there's a lot more than knowing the chord changes -- the conversational, inspirational area of [music]."

Soloff took up the trumpet at age 10 after hearing recordings of Roy Eldridge and Louis Armstrong. He eventually continued his studies at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music -- classmate Chuck Mangione wrote a tune "Feel of a Vision" for Soloff to perform as a recital piece -- and the Julliard School.

While still attending Julliard he worked with Maynard Ferguson, Joe Henderson and Kenny Dorham and became one of the early members of the jazz/rock/pop group Blood, Sweat and Tears; that's his solo on the classic "Spinning Wheel." After leaving BS&T in 1973, he did a lot of studio work in New York.

"The most important musical job in my life was working with [legendary arranger] Gil Evans," which he did from 1966 until his death in 1988. "He did exactly what I'm talking about [that is, inspired others to teach themselves]. He had that magical thing -- I don't know how else to explain it."

The studio work began to dry up in 1984, and that year Soloff joined the Manhattan Jazz Quintet, for which he has recorded 28 albums and, he says, is very popular in Japan. Not strictly a jazz player, however, Soloff also performs with the Manhattan Brass, a classical outfit.

This is Soloff's third time participating in the Jazz Seminar and Concert. He says Nathan Davis, the university's director of jazz studies, "always puts together a really great group and it's always a lot of fun."

And it will be a reunion of sorts, as "I just played with [saxophonist] Donald Harrison in Oakland in Billy Cobham's band. It's going to be odd seeing him again."

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