Sean Jones (born May 29, 1978 in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The hi ...

) is an American trumpeter and composer featured on the 2007

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning album ''

Turned to Blue ''Turned to Blue'' is the fifty-second and final studio album by American jazz singer Nancy Wilson. It was released in 2006 through MCG Jazz. The title track is a poem written by Maya Angelou. The album won Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 49th Annu ...

'' by Nancy Wilson. As a bandleader, Jones has released seven albums under the

Mack Avenue Records Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

label. He performs with his own groups both nationally and internationally. Jones often plays at music venues and jazz festivals such as the Monterey Jazz Festival,

Detroit International Jazz Festival The Detroit Jazz Festival is a free jazz festival held every year during Labor Day Weekend at Hart Plaza and Campus Martius Park in Detroit, Michigan. History The festival began in 1980. Until 2000, it was known as the Montreux-Detroit Jazz F ...

, the Vail Jazz Festival and

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...

Background

Among Jones' first musical experiences were the gospel music he heard while attending Saint James' Church of God in Christ in

, where he sang and performed with the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. As a beginning musician, Jones started on the drums and switched to trumpet in the fifth grade after his grandmother told him about his grandfather playing the instrument during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Jones developed an interest in

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a maj ...

around the same time, after receiving two

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

albums from his band instructor, namely Kind of Blue and Tutu. By the time he entered

Warren G. Harding High School Warren G. Harding High School is a public high school in Warren, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Warren City School District. Sports teams are called the Raiders, and they compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Associatio ...

, Jones had decided to pursue a career as a professional musician, and studied classical trumpet as well as jazz. In 2000, Jones obtained an undergraduate degree in classical trumpet performance from

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges a ...

and later a master's degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, where he studied under Professor William Fielder, who had also taught

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, among others. As a session musician, Jones has performed with several notable ensembles and musicians, including

Tia Fuller Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music. Fulle ...

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

, Marcus Miller, Jon Faddis,

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

and Frank Foster. In 2004, Jones had a six-month stint with the

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. The Orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History In 1988 the Orchestra was formed as ...

, after which Marsalis offered him a position with the ensemble as a third trumpeter then moved to the lead chair a couple months later. Around the same time, Jones became a music professor at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

, and lived in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

area for several years. In 2011, he performed “A tribute to Miles” with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller and Sean Rickman. Jones has recently been selected as the Interim Artistic Director for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. He became an associate professor of Jazz Trumpet at

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

for the 2012-2013 academic year. He was a member of the

SFJAZZ Collective The SFJAZZ Collective is an American jazz ensemble comprising nine performer/composers, launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ, a West Coast non-profit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. Collective activities The SFJ ...

from 2015 - 2017. He previously served as head of the Brass Department at Berklee College of Music. He currently serves as the chair of the jazz studies department of the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

in Baltimore, MD. Jones is also on the board of directors and is president-elect of Jazz Education Network (JEN). Jones is currently represented by Unlimited Myles, Inc.

Discography

As leader

* 2004: ''Eternal Journey'' (

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

) * 2005: ''Gemini'' (Mack Avenue) * 2006: ''Roots'' (Mack Avenue) * 2007: ''Kaleidoscope'' (Mack Avenue) * 2009: ''The Search Within'' (Mack Avenue) * 2011 ''No Need for Words'' (Mack Avenue) * 2014 ''im*pro*vise: never before seen'' (Mack Avenue) * 2017 ''Live from Jazz at the Bistro'' (Mack Avenue)

As sideman/contributor

*2002: ''Live @ Zanzibar Blue'', Charles Famborough *2003: ''

New York, New Sound ''New York, New Sound'' is an album by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra recorded in 2003 and released on the Mack Avenue label. Reception AllMusic rated the album with 3 stars; in his review, Alex Henderson noted: "Wilson's musical personality is ve ...

Orchestra (Mack Avenue) *2005: ''

In My Time ''In My Time'' is the ninth studio album by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on the Private Music label in 1993. This album is a gentler collection of piano-focused pieces. The album attained Platinum status and was the second Gramm ...

'',

Orchestra (Mack Avenue) *2005: ''Sonic Tonic'', Ron Blake (Mack Avenue) *2006: ''It Makes Me Glad'', Teddy Pantelas Trio (Tatsou) *2006:''

'', Nancy Wilson (MCG Jazz) *2007: ''Healing Space'',

(Mack Avenue) *2007 ''

Monterey Moods ''Monterey Moods'' is an album by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra recorded in 2007 and released on the Mack Avenue label. Reception AllMusic rated the album with 4 stars; in his review, Michael G. Nastos noted: "The music is for the most part punchy ...

'', Gerald Wilson Orchestra (Mack Avenue) *2007: '' Rainbow People'', Steve Turre (HighNote) *2009: ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

'', Gerald Wilson Orchestra (Mack Avenue) *2010: ''Decisive Steps'',

(Mack Avenue) *2011: '' Legacy'', Gerald Wilson Orchestra (Mack Avenue) *2011: '' Blues For Pekar (Ernie Krivda album) , Ernie Krivda Tenor Sax, Sean Jones Trumpet, Dominick Farinacci Flugelhorn *2019: ''Soul Awakening'',

Brandee Younger Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983) is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble ...

(Independent)

Compilations

*2006: ''Legends & Lions: Blues'' (Mack Avenue) *2006: ''Legends & Lions: Swoonin (Mack Avenue) *2006: ''Legends & Lions: Swingin (Mack Avenue) *2007: ''Compilations'' (Tri-Valley YMC

*2014: ''Live From The Detroit Jazz Festival - 2013'' (Mack Avenue) *2014: ''It's Christmas on Mack Avenue'' (Mack Avenue)

Awards and nominations

*2007: ''Downbeat Magazine'' Rising Star *2007: ''JazzTimes Magazine'' Reader's Poll Best New Artist *2007:

Jazz Journalists Association The Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2016, it has approximately 250 members, including professional journalists, students, ind ...

Trumpeter of the Year (Nominated) *2006: ''Downbeat Magazine'' Rising Star

References

External links

Sean Jones WebsiteSean Jones Artist Page
*
All About Jazz profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sean (trumpeter) American bandleaders American session musicians American trumpeters American male trumpeters Living people 1978 births Rutgers University alumni People from Warren, Ohio African-American jazz musicians 21st-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Ohio 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians SFJAZZ Collective members Mack Avenue Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people