The life of a musician is a busy one.
Trumpet player Johnny Summers balances his schedule of writing arrangements, performing and holding student workshops with spending time with his family in Calgary and playing hockey.
His next tour, a mini-one in B.C., brings him to Salmon Arm as part of a jazz trio he’s been performing with for 20 years.
Summers, along with pianist Egor Ukoluff and bassist Codi Hutchinson, will perform Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Nexus, (First United Church).
“If there are kids and young music students, they would probably enjoy it… you hear what the instruments can do. We try to have something for everybody,” he said.
This will be Summers’ first time in Salmon Arm.
They’ll be playing a variety of music, from originals to familiar songs, from Louis Armstrong, George Jones, Miles Davies and Johnny Cash.
Summers, 37, got hooked on jazz in his youth, starting with an old Louis Armstrong record his mother purchased from a garage sale.
“My jaw just hit the floor. I’d always been drawn to music, even as a kid, music that was more real musicians playing. It just blew me away. It was so different that anything else I had ever heard.
“It had so much life and smile in it, and love and authenticity,” he said.
Then he listened to the album Blue Light Red Light by Harry Connick Jr.
He wanted to sing like Connick, play like Connick and was fascinated with the way the album was painted.
“It was really fun and happy,” he said.
He loved the New Orleans style, the swing of the music, and journeyed to the city to find the greats.
“I had just finished my jazz studies degree from the University of Calgary and I had moved to New Orleans for a while.”
He was 21 when he met and played with famous jazz musician Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans.
He remembers playing with Marsalis for the first time although, he admits, Marsalis doesn’t remember.
Now, he and Marsalis jam frequently. He recently returned from a tour with Marsalis in North Carolina and West Virginia, working at Marshall University in West Virginia and towards a music competition and festival centered around Marsalis.
As part of Summers’ tours, he does workshops with students, focusing on stage anxiety and making the students feel comfortable.
“Working with the kids is kind of – it’s awesome, it’s extremely rewarding,” he said.
He believes art is subjective and hard to grade, so he loves to discuss other aspects.
“(I like to) talk to them about creating art that’s truly emotional and moving to culture and not just necessarily ‘look what I can do on my instrument,’” he said.
Summers enjoys a busy schedule, but also has hobbies he pursues.
“I do like to be busy, but ambition is a double-edge sword. I have some hobbies I guard very aggressively,” he said.
Racing in the Merritt Pacific Forest Rally is a hobby Summers hopes to create more time for.
Now, he has his sights on doing a hard release of his second Christmas album this December, which carries two tracks with Summers and seven with the orchestra.
He is currently the artistic director of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra and will be writing arrangements for the The Art of Romance/The Art Of Soul concert in February.
