CLEVELAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA WELCOMES SEAN JONES AS NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Sean Jones will become interim artistic director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra in July, succeeding Jack Schantz as leader of Cleveland’s top jazz group. A star in his own right, Jones has released five albums on the Mack Avenue label and is lead trumpet player for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. A native of Warren who lives in Pittsburgh, where he assistant professor of jazz studies at Duquesne University, Jones will lead the CJO in its four-concert 2009-2010 season. He says he is delighted to take the position and looks forward to strengthening the CJO’s relationship with area schools, particularly Cleveland public schools, where he hopes the CJO will “play a major role in jazz education.”
Schantz, the superb trumpet player and fluegelhornist who gave Jones his first jazz lesson at Youngstown State University, will still nurture the CJO. “I’d like to play,” says the director of jazz studies at the University of Akron. “I’d like to be part of the trumpet section. I think I can make a contribution there.” “Maybe 10 years ago,” Jones recalls, “I joined the CJO as a player and everyone was very kind to me, gave me constructive criticism when I needed it and allowed me to express myself.” He worked with the likes of Frank Foster and Gerald Wilson during his stint with the CJO, which led to Wilson inviting him to play on his album, “New York, New Sound”—and, ultimately, to his recording contract. He released his first album in 2004, at age 25.
Jones views his upcoming tenure with the CJO as a sort of homecoming. “I think my primary role will be to present it as the premier jazz presenting organization in Cleveland,” he says. “After all, it is the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and I want it to present what Cleveland has to offer in jazz in the best way it can. Instead of doing tribute concerts to a composer, we’re going to think out of the box and present concerts that have a different kind of feel, like a Valentine’s Day concert or a concert of children’s music, lullabies rearranged by members of the band. “Collaboration is going to be very important.”
As for his relationship with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis, a classically trained jazz trumpeter like him, Jones will still be “on board.” (Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in classical trumpet performance from Youngstown State and a master’s in music performance, with a jazz emphasis, from Rutgers University; “the technique it takes to be a great trumpet player you learn from the European classical tradition,” he says. “Jazz is more about musicianship.”) “This year is pretty much a test-the-waters year,” says Jones. “I’m going to make sure I’m a good fit for the CJO and the CJO’s a good fit for me. At this point in my career, I’m trying to take more of a leadership role.” His artistic vision will characterize his leadership role with the CJO. “These guys know how to play,” he says, “and where things need to be tweaked, we’ll tweak them together.” Schantz, meanwhile, is very pleased Jones is taking over. “He’s a giant musician,” he says. “He’s one of the best trumpet players on the planet right now.” Jones will bring national recognition and national contacts to the CJO, “all the cachet of a virtuoso trumpet player-leader,” says Schantz, who has led the CJO for 17 years. “A guy like Sean, I think you can build a really effective marketing campaign around him. I also think he’ll bring a fresh approach and the energy of youth to the job.
