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Jazzmeia Horn Takes Charge

Jazzmeia Horn in the KNKX Seattle Studios.
Parker Miles Blohm
/
KNKX

I like to fantasize about using a time machine to catch early concerts by jazz legends of the past. Every once in a while, a young talent emerges that has me searching their crowd for curious time-traveling jazz fans from the future. Jazzmeia Horn is certainly worthy of such a trip.

Riding a wave of excitement after the release of her debut album A Social Call from last year, Jazzmeia Horn sold out her Tuesday night Earshot Jazz Festival performance. Our studio audience was packed to catch her incredible talent and impressive band up close, and we're honored to share that studio session with you.

Musically, Horn was raised in a Baptist church choir. She was put here by the Creator to make music, Horn told us, and it's hard to argue that point. Her skills as a singer transcend standard jazz vocalists, Horn uses her voice as an instrumentalist would. Only she's able to mimic a symphony with her impressive pipes, wailing like a sax or popping and cracking like a drummer.

Another impressive side of this artist is her intelligence. Horn spoke passionately about sharing her experience as a young black woman in the United States, the uselessness of labeling musical styles, and how every day is an opportunity to improvise.

If I might reach for another science fiction reference, I'd like to clone Jazzmeia Horn so we could have one of her dedicated to making music and another to run for President. She's got my vote!

Live in the KNKX studios, we heard three unique interpretations of standards that showed many of Jazzmeia Horn's many musical skills, but I'm most excited to hear her talk about her new album of (nearly all) original compositions due next Spring. Stay tuned!

Even as she told us the KNKX studios are now "legendary", it was truly an honor to get in on the ground floor with young Jazzmeia Horn. We'll be talking about her with even greater awe to our grandchildren. We were there!

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Abe grew up in Western Washington, a 3rd generation Seattle/Tacoma kid. It was as a student at Pacific Lutheran University that Abe landed his first job at KNKX, editing and producing audio for news stories. It was a Christmas Day shift no one else wanted that gave Abe his first on-air experience which led to overnights, then Saturday afternoons, and started hosting Evening Jazz in 1998.