Monday, October 6, 2008

Sean Jones is never far from home

By Katie Libecco

YOUNGSTOWN - Sean Jones is never far from home.

Commercials promoting his show Thursday at Stambaugh Auditorium bill 30-year-old Jones as a "YSU graduate" and "the most in-demand trumpet player in New York City." Jones says that level of fame (in-demand, not YSU graduate) feels "pretty shocking," with a laugh.

"I'm excited to come back. I've never performed in Youngstown with my recording band. I'm really excited about this," he says.

Jones says he'll be playing material from his last two records, "Kaleidoscope" and "Roots," but will also play material that's never been played live. He says the work is from "The Search Within," set for release in the spring. Performing with Jones is his recording quintet from New York; Orrin Evans on piano, Luques Curtis on bass, Obed Calvaire on drums and Brian Hogans on alto saxophone.

Ten years ago, Jones planned on getting to exactly this point.

"One of my goals was always to have a recording out. When I was 16, I wrote a letter to my mother telling her my plan for what I'd be doing when I was 26," Jones says. "One of my goals was to have met Wynton Marsalis; I didn't think I'd be in his band. Another was to have my own CD... my primary goal was to be a college professor."

He says he spent his early 20s pursuing that dream.

"I remembered all the professors at Youngstown, teachers growing up; they were so giving. I wanted to give that same gift to one of my students some day, so a lot of my work was geared toward that," he says.

Jones graduated from YSU with an undergraduate degree in classical trumpet and a Master's from Rutgers University.

In 2004, Jones began his ascension to stardom.

"I went from being a student to being this supposed jazz superstar - it was weird," Jones says laughing.

Jones was signed by Mack Avenue records and released, "Eternal Journey," bringing him to the forefront of the nation's jazz scene.

"Fate 'grabbed me and said no, that's not all you'll be doing," he says.

He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2004 with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra for "New York, New Sound," also released on the Mack Avenue record label.

Jones also began performing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as a sub in 2004.

Jones says at the end of that tour, Marsalis "Came up and said, 'I want you to be in the band.' And, I turned it down. It wasn't my primary goal," Jones says. "A lot of people thought I was crazy."

He says he initially turned down the role to focus on getting his doctorate, but Marsalis kept calling. Months later, with support from his colleagues and Duquesne University, Jones says he finally took Marsalis up on the offer. He performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as lead trumpet for two years.

Jones stepped down from lead chair, but says he does a lot of educational work with the center and has written "a couple" pieces for the orchestra. He continues to perform with the orchestra and teaches as a professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

But that doesn't mean he's lost touch with his roots.

"Home in extremely important - it's who I am," he says. "A lot of people grow up, graduate and leave and go to some place like New York or Los Angeles. They try to put on the Los Angeles of New York garment as if its theirs. That's not true. If you look at those people (in New York or Los Angeles) - none of those people are from there. They're from Warren, Youngstown, Indianapolis - the Midwest. I'm proud of where I come from."

Jones says he "loves" Warren and Youngstown and their people.

"I love Warren, I love Youngstown. I love the people - they're giving, honest (for the most part) hard workers," he says.

He acknowledges his fame and success, but describes it as a blessing and a curse.

"It's a blessing in that I am able to play my ideas worldwide, but I'm playing the music I learned in Ohio. I learned it in church, I learned it by people giving me CDs in school. So, that's a blessing," he says. "It's a curse, because you have to maintain a reputation. If you have a bad night - they right about it... You're exposing yourself - you're out there, there's a lot that comes with it. It's not all fun and games. I know it seems like that from the outside - but I promise that's not true."

He may be on top the jazz scene, but that doesn't mean Jones is stopping. His next ten years are as planned out as the past ten.

"I want to continue my solo career, and actually, I want to focus on my writing...I want to start writing for larger ensembles."

Jones says he's working on commissions - trumpet concertos with his same influences of jazz, gospel and ensemble.

"I want to re-define the role of a professor in a university. Most of the time they look good on paper, but they're not out there performing around the world," he says. "I want to be a part of this jazz movement that's coming to universities."

He explains that a professor should be out on tour, recruiting students not enrolled and inspiring those who are enrolled. He says, that type of professor can more accurately teach students what's going on in the world "when you're out there playing."

"Also, believe it or not, I want to deal with more political things Pittsburgh," he says.

Jones says he wants to work with organizations to establish funding for institutions that support music education, specifically, jazz education. Not only that, Jones says it's important for his generation "to start working to figure out what to do with the mess we've been thrown into."

"Not to get too political, people are making decisions they're not going to have to deal with...we should start looking at what's going on right now," he says.

The show will begin at 8 p.m. at Stambaugh Auditorium as part of YSU's Centennial Celebration. Tickets are $10, free for YSU students with a valid ID. Call the YSU Box Office at (330) 941-3105 for reservations and more information.