Music world remembers talented trumpeter

Jul. 31—He played trumpet with big names like Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie in front of thousands of people. Those who knew Saul "Tony" Lujan called him "one of the best God-given talents in the trumpet world."

The music ended abruptly when, according to Bernalillo County deputies, the Albuquerque native killed himself during a lengthy standoff Wednesday at his home in the East Mountains.

The 65-year-old, a father of three, had allegedly pointed a gun at some neighbors earlier in the day and fired rounds into their ATV before deputies responded. Authorities said Lujan had been exhibiting "increasingly erratic behavior" in recent years.

Lujan's family declined to comment Friday.

Mark Padilla, president of the New Mexico Music Hall of Fame, said Lujan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020 but his legacy had long been established.

Padilla called Lujan one of the small-town artists "who made it."

"I don't consider myself a jack of all trades, I just want to be a master of one — but I'm still working," Lujan said in a 2020 interview.

Born in Albuquerque, Lujan began playing trumpet at the age of 10 and studied at New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico before being tutored by master trumpet player Clark Terry. Lujan went on to produce four studio albums, played with a laundry list of famous musicians and taught at universities and in local communities.

Abe Torres said Lujan tutored him after Torres graduated from Rio Grande High and the pair became "friends for life." One of Lujan's first students, Torres said Lujan changed his world as a trumpeter.

"He wasn't much older than me, maybe a couple of years. But in trumpet years, he was miles beyond my abilities," Torres said. Musically, he said, Lujan "was a monster" who played with the best in the world — he had Arturo Sandoval's number on speed dial and considered Doc Severinsen one of his best friends.

Torres said Lujan used parts of his brain "that most people don't even tap" and studied his craft diligently. He said Lujan was a master at circular breathing, a rare talent where you don't pull the trumpet off your face, breathing through your nose while still producing sound.

Torres said Lujan was an exception in a world where people "are making millions in the music industry but couldn't punch their way out of an improv situation."

At one point, Torres said, Lujan was in a car crash that "literally blanked his mind."

The New Mexico Music Awards said on Facebook that the crash left Lujan in a monthslong coma, and he "had to be convinced by his friends that he was indeed, a trumpet player."

"After viewing some videos of himself, he picked up his instrument and re-learned everything that was taken away from him in the accident," NMMA posted on Facebook.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office had responded to numerous calls at Lujan's home in recent years, according to court records. The agency's Crisis Intervention Team, utilized in mental health related calls, noted Lujan complained of being "hacked" and "attacked by a local gang."

Tuesday's incident began with a call from a neighbor.

According to an arrest warrant filed in Metropolitan Court:

Deputies responded around 6:15 p.m. to 12 Camino Oro Drive for reports of an "armed subject." A 29-year-old man told deputies he and a teenage girl were riding an ATV when it stalled near their home.

He said he then saw Lujan running toward them with a revolver and yelling they "robbed him and stole his dog." The man told deputies he knew Lujan had recently lost a dog but was "confused at the random accusation."

The man told deputies he had a gun on his hip and Lujan told him he would kill him if he went for it. He said Lujan shot the ATV three times, and he tackled Lujan.

The man told deputies Lujan disarmed him of his gun and began pistol whipping him. He said Lujan fired at the ATV again, drew a second revolver and pointed it at him before running off.

The teenaged girl and a neighbor corroborated the man's story to deputies, who found bullet holes in the ATV and bruises on the man's face. Deputies said they went to Lujan's home and made contact with him "through a window" but he refused to come out.

At 2 a.m., according to court records, deputies were still trying to get Lujan to surrender.

BCSO spokeswoman Jayme Fuller said Lujan died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She did not give any other details about the standoff.

In the hours before deputies were called, Lujan had posted a photo to Facebook of his son playing trumpet, captioned "tearing it up!!" Since his death, social media has been flooded by hundreds of friends, musicians and fans mourning the loss.

Many expressed disbelief at the circumstances.

One man said the incident "underscores the absolute (expletive) of mental healthcare in the USA. Poor guy must have needed some help and couldn't get it." Another wrote, "Wow. What a dark, tragic ending for anybody, much less a respected musician."

Torres said the whole situation is "just too weird." The loss, he said, is devastating.

Torres said he has a trumpet, set to be displayed in the hall of fame, signed by the greats: Brian Lynch, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Shew and Arturo Sandoval. One signature was missing.

"I'm so sad that I never got Tony Lujan's autograph on that trumpet, because those were my intentions," he said. "I just missed that opportunity when we lost him."

Torres went on, "You want to know what Tony meant to people? He meant to me everything that I've become and will ever be in music. Because of Tony."