New York-based, British Columbia-born, trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg celebrates her new album What It Means in a KNKX studio session. She was in town for shows at Dimitrou's Jazz Alley.
In the years since Skonberg’s aptly titled 2020 album Nothing Never Happens, she has weathered the tumultuous pandemic times and, like many of us, witnessed a social justice movement, emerging political divisions and new global conflicts. She described these years as “disorienting,” and in the realm of her music, she was “trying to find a way forward and a way back at the same time.”
The search for a way forward led her back to New Orleans, a city full of sounds that was central to developing her passion for music when she was younger. Skonberg grew up in Chilliwack, BC, where her parents set her up to explore the wide world of music at a young age.
“I'm a product of really great parents who encouraged both me and my siblings to play instruments...” said Skonberg.
In seventh grade, she started playing trumpet. Skonberg said her dad played the instrument back in high school, so they already owned one.
Skonberg said her passion for jazz grew thanks, in part, to a long-running festival in her hometown dedicated to the early stylings of jazz, including the music of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Sydney Bechet.
Now Skonberg is returning to those roots and the sounds of New Orleans on her recently released album What It Means. She recorded in the Crescent City and connected with a living jazz legend, drummer Herlin Riley.
“He's a wonderful, absolutely magical human being. And when you listen to it, as I do, I go, ‘how is he playing all those things at the same time?’" Skonberg said.
Since her last record, Skonberg has also become a mother. She described motherhood as a lot of fun and full of learning: “It's a lot. It's more than you could ever experience. And just like the amount of growth, the learning curve is obviously incredibly steep.”
With motherhood, she took a step back from playing the trumpet. Skonberg said she took almost three months off and credits revered trumpeter John Faddis with helping her regain her chops.
“We often are told that we cannot take more than two days off the horn or we'll never play again..." She said, “I think I play smarter, stronger than I have before.”
Musicians:
- Bria Skonberg - trumpet, vocals
- Steve Treseler - saxophone
- Chris Pattishall - piano
- Grayson Brockamp - bass
- Darrian Douglass - drums
Songs:
- Comes Loves (L. Brown, S. Stept, C. Tobias)
- Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? (E. DeLange, L. Alter)
- The Beat Goes On/Sidewinder (S. Bono, L. Morgan)
