When you listen to smooth Jazz trumpet players they have this mellow warm tone, almost like a trombone, yet they can still play high. How do they get that tone?

lots of practice.

ah...i thought so

heh, there are some things you can do to help, such as lasrge bore size, and playing around with different mouthpeices. In essence though, it`s just lots of practice.

A lot of practice like the other contributors have said.

Something else that is just as important, is to feel the music. You get into it so much that for the moment, you and the trumpet are an extension of each other.

Without this connection it is just technical.

It may sound like trite jive, but you have to impart soul into the music.

I play alto sax and i thought i would not be able to sound like the alto in dave sanborn`s harlem nocturne. i practiced forever and i got the sound. no reeds, no mouthpieces, no tutors. dont know if its the same for the trumpet, but just work your you-know-what off practicing.

What Neil said is also EXTEMELY important. Louis Armstrong had a crappy voice, and poor tone, but man is he fun to listen to! Why? because he felt it so much that he made you feel what he was feeling.

they might be using a flugelhorn