Tri-C Jazzfest Cleveland Artist Spotlight: Sean Jones

May 20, 2014

Trumpeter Sean Jones will perform as part of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland at 7 p.m. June 26 in the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, 1511 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.

Jones was unavailable for an interview, so Tri-C Trending scoured the Internet to come up with 10 things readers might not know about Jones.

1. When Sean Jones was a kid, he suffered from asthma.

2. Jones attended Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio and played in the school’s jazz band. Its hall of fame inducted him this year. “This is and will be one of the highlights of my career as the very foundation of who I am was built there!” he wrote on his Facebook page. He earned his bachelor’s degree in classical trumpet at Youngstown State University.

3. After college, he worked on a cruise ship playing trumpet and then taught music in an elementary school.

4. He is an assistant professor of jazz trumpet at Oberlin College.

5. He is artistic director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.

6. Jones, 35, started playing trumpet when he was 10, switching from drums.

7. He recently purchased the trumpet owned by his former professor at Rutgers and mentor, Bill Fielder.

8. Jones first fell in love with music attending St. James Church of God in Christ in Warren, Ohio as kid. He sang in the church choir. "When I was growing up, I was pretty much in a gospel church all day. Every day. So I'm very much influenced by gospel music,” he told National Public Radio.

9. Jones cites Miles Davis’ seminal recording, “Kind of Blue,” as a major influence.

10. It freaks him out that his mom is on Twitter.

Bonus fact: finding information about Jones is not easy.

Information in this list was largely culled from Jones Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia pages.

Sean Jones, 7 p.m. June 26, Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, 1511 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. For tickets, call 216-987-4444.