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Blowing his trumpet

Jazz artist Nathan Samuelson makes his St. Albert debut with Mission Hill Brass
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Back from touring the world, jazz artist Nathan Samuelson blows his trumpet as guest performer at Mission Hill Brass' Annual Fall Concert on Sunday, Oct. 27 at St. Albert United Church. SUPPLIED PHOTO

PREVIEW

Annual Fall Concert

Mission Hill Brass

With special guest Nathan Samuelson

Sunday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m.

St. Albert United Church

20 Green Grove Dr.

Tickets: $20 at door. Children under 12 free.

 

You don’t hear much jazz being played in St. Albert, but every once in a while there’s a reminder that it’s still kicking.

For its season opener, Mission Hill Brass’ special guest is international trumpeter Nathan Samuelson, a musician whose modern jazz dovetails nicely with the band’s traditional British brass band stylings.

After spending a number of years performing on cruise lines, the Devon-raised musician recently returned to his stomping grounds.

“My agent gets me gigs on cruise lines and my brand is that of young, hip, smooth jazz musician. I’m the Michael Bublé of the trumpet,” chuckles Samuelson at the tongue-in-cheek comparison.

As one of new crop of modern jazz musicians, he released a debut nine-track titled City Lights Ahead. It’s an album that transports the listener to Brazil's tropical shores, New York's cosmopolitan streets and Europe's Old World sophistication.

The album came to fruition after a two-month visit to Brazil where Samuelson absorbed diverse musical influences.

“The compositions are written from the standpoint of how people live.”

While on his stay in the Portuguese speaking country, Samuelson became a fan of Antonio Carlos Jobin, a Brazilian composer, pianist, songwriter and singer dubbed “the father of bossa nova.”

The Brazilian rhythms can be clearly heard in two tracks: Meu Amor and Chega De Saudade.

The youngest son of trumpet player and educator Clarence Samuelson and flautist/pianist Melanie Samuelson, he was musically predestined. But it was hearing the Chuck Mangione Feel So Good that sealed his fate.

“That did it for me. It intrinsically resonated with me and I knew what I wanted to do. I love how beautiful and how melodic the trumpet can sound and how it can sound like the human voice. It can be powerful. It can be tender. It has a wide range of dynamics.”

After completing a two-year diploma at MacEwan College, Samuelson gigged around town trying to find his niche. Looking further afield, he auditioned as part of a cruise line’s pit band. Hired on seven-month contracts, he sailed around the United States, Caribbean and Mediterranean.

“Being away from family was the hardest but the music was the biggest challenge. You were given the charts one hour before rehearsal, and it was new music daily. You had to learn it instantly.”

Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Spain and Portugal were all popular docking points. But it was a stop at Madeira, Portugal that fired his imagination for an album.

“I’d been writing a bunch of tunes but when we reached Madeira, we docked in the middle of the night. The whole city was lit up and it reminded me of Edmonton. I called the album City Lights Ahead and I ended up doing a photo shoot for it in Edmonton.”

As guest soloist at the Mission Hill Brass concert, Samuelson will perform William Hines’ So Glad with the band. In addition, pianist Tom Van Seters will accompany Samuelson in a set of eight straight-ahead jazz standards.

“We’re even doing What a Wonderful World and I’ll be doing my Louis Armstrong impersonation.”

The Mission Hill Brass concert takes place Sunday, Oct. 27 at St. Albert United Church.

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