StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Sean Jones

This week, we train our video lens on trumpeter Sean Jones, who will be in St. Louis to play next Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, May 28 at Jazz at the Bistro. Jones, who will turn 33 next Sunday, may be best known for a five-year stint as lead trumpeter for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but the Ohio native also has put out five CDs as a leader, with his sixth, No Need For Words, set for release by Detroit's Mack Avenue Records this coming Tuesday.

Today's clips show Jones displaying his impressive trumpet technique on some well-known standards. Up top, he and his band perform "Take The A Train" as part of a 2008 tribute to Billy Strayhorn. Jones' working group includes Brian Hogans (alto sax), Orrin Evans (piano), Luques Curtis (bass) and Obed Calvaire (drums), and they're joined on this clip by singer Carolyn Perteete.

Down below, you can hear Jones play "Jitterbug Waltz" during a jam at the Dakota in Minneapolis, and below that, you can hear him solo on "Sugar" during another impromptu session at drummer Cecil Brooks' club in New Jersey.

In the fourth slot, you can check out the electronic press kit for No Need For Words, which features musical excerpts as well as Jones talking about his music and his band members. If you'd like to hear more, Mack Avenue Records is offering previews of tracks from Jones' new CD by posting links to them on their Twitter feed.

For more about Jones, check out this early interview, published in 2004 by AllAboutJazz.com; this 2009 interview from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and this review of a March 2011 performance at Chicago's Jazz Showcase from the Chicago Tribune.