Trumpeter, Composer, Educator, and Activist Sean Jones Performs with Quartet

Aliso Viejo, CA –Sean Jones Quartet performs at Soka Performing Arts Center on Friday, April 6, 2018, at 8:00 p.m. as part of the Jazz Monsters Series. Tickets are $40 for adults; $32 for students, seniors, and active military families; and $29 each for groups of 10 or more. Purchase tickets online or by calling 949-480-4ART (4278).

The New York Times describes Jones as “a trumpeter with an incisive tone and a firm grasp of jazz traditions” and JazzTimes writes, “When Jones solos, soaring with a gentle strength as his band swells behind him, it’s not just a pretty melody … it’s praise.” Jones will be joined by pianist Alex Brown, bassist Corcoran Holt, and drummer Quincy Phillips.

A highly respected and in-demand musician, Jones has been prominently featured with a number of artists, recording and/or performing with many major figures, including Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson, and Marcus Miller. The relationship with Miller led to another highly impacting experience when Jones was selected by Miller, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter for their Tribute to Miles tour in 2011. Prior to that, he performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, participating in two recordings.

Jones recently joined the Berklee College of Music’s distinguished faculty as the Chair of the Brass Department. He also serves as Artistic Director of both the Pittsburgh and Cleveland jazz orchestras and is working toward organizing the various jazz orchestras all over the country. He is the current artist-in-residence at San Francisco Performances and is a member of the SF Jazz Collective.

Music and spirituality have always intertwined in the artistic vision of the trumpeter, composer, educator, and activist. As a child, he performed with the church choir in his hometown and switched from the drums to the trumpet upon his first exposure to Miles Davis at age ten. Twenty-five years later, he still reveres Davis, “Miles is probably the single most powerful influence on me as an artist. His overall vision, the way he changed with the times, the purity of his sound.”