There aren't many singing trumpet players.
Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima were known for both in the jazz/big band world and Phil Driscoll does both in the contemporary Christian field.
That's only one of the characteristics that makes Australian entertainer Greg Bonham unique. Bonham performs Tuesday at Packard Music Hall as part of the Warren Civic Music Association's 2012-13 concert season.
In a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas, Bonham said trumpet was one of several instruments he played as a child, but he realized that diversity might be a hindrance in establishing himself.
''I realized I wasn't able to get the point across if I did too many things,'' he said. ''Now I just concentrate on the trumpet ... I always had better sound, better technique on the trumpet.''
Switching back and forth between trumpet and singing doesn't make it easier or harder to do the other.
Fact Box
When You?Go
WHAT: Warren Civic Music Association Greg Bonham
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
WHERE: Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave. N.W., Warren
HOW MUCH: Single tickets are $35 and can be ordered by calling 330-399-4885.
''Both are using lung power,'' Bonham said. ''People often comment how I hit some really high notes (on the trumpet) and then switch straight to singing. It's just pushing from the diaphragm. It's really similar ... It helps that I'm fit, I'm a gym junkie.''
Bonham's versatility is one of the things that helped him on ''Showcase,'' a televised talent show in Australia that he compared to ''American Idol.'' He won the grand prize at age 16, launching a career in his homeland that included 150 television appearances.
From Australia Bonham went to England, where he performed in clubs and had his own television special.
That's a somewhat logical career progression, but that's the point where his career took another unique twist. In the early '80s, Bonham became one of the top-selling acts in the Soviet Union.
''I was plucked out of a London club by a promoter who said, 'Do you want to go to Russia?'' Bonham said.
It was a time when the Soviet Union was slowly opening its borders to western acts, and Bonham was in the right place at the right time. He toured extensively and a live album recorded in Moscow ended up selling three million copies. Bonham remembers seeing a Russian sales charts where Paul McCartney was No. 1, Boney M was No. 2 and Bonham was No. 3.
He released several other albums in the Soviet Union in the '80s, selling 14 million copies in all. Bonham said Soviet record royalties were ''pathetic'' compared to what he would have earned with those numbers in the U.S. or Europe, ''But it bought me a house in London.''
The man dubbed the ''Aussie Powerhouse'' now works primarily in the United States. In addition to being a headliner in Las Vegas and Atlanitc City, Bonham has opened for such acts as Jay Leno, Don Rickles and Joan Rivers.
Bonham said his Packard Music Hall appearance will mix pop favorites with a few original songs, and video clips of his live show can be found at www.gregbonham.com.
An audience favorite is ''Who Will Stand,'' an original tune that he described as a patriotic rock song.
''I can sing that song in Italy or England or anywhere,'' he said. ''It's about celebrating freedom.''