On Wednesday, 24 July, I heard Bria Skonberg and her band at Jazz Alley in Seattle. Nobody plays trumpet like Bria. And she also composes, arranges, and sings.

For about three years, I’ve watched her videos and followed her on Facebook, and as she posted about playing everywhere else but here, mostly on the East Coast and New Orleans, I would comment, “When are you coming to Jazz Alley in Seattle?”

She always replied, “We’re working on it,” until one time she said, “Check the July 2024 schedule.”

Sure enough, she was booked for 23-24 July! So, on the last night, I went and sat in the balcony at table 430. Had a nice side view. After the show, I spoke with her briefly. She wants to come back.

Later, I also spoke to the general manager. “I’ve come here to see Pancho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, and Chris Botti. I like her best of all.”

“She belongs with them,” he said.

“She’s so versatile and expressive!” I said. “She talks through the horn. She may not have the range and power of some other trumpeters, but she beats them all in expression. I hope you’ll bring her back.”

“We will!” he said, and we shook hands.

The New York Times wrote, “Ms. Skonberg has become the shining hope of hot jazz, on the strength of a clarion trumpet style indebted to Louis Armstrong, a smooth purr of a singing voice inspired by Anita O’Day.” Coming from British Columbia and now living in New York, she was described in The Wall Street Journal as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation.” Her signature composition is “So Is the Day,” with which she closed the show.

Jazz Alley wrote, “Bria has recorded on over 25 albums, has garnered over 13 million streams online and over 85,000 social media followers…She tours constantly, bringing her own signature sounds of fiery trumpet playing, smoky vocals and storytelling together with adventurous concoctions of classic and new.” She’s a Juno Award winner (2017), among other awards. Her 2024 release, What It Means, “tells stories of life lessons that range from upbeat to down-to-earth to emotionally deep, all the while exhibiting both her mastery of the trumpet and her soulful and undeniably connective voice.”

Her parents were in the crowd on that last night. They know—nobody plays the horn like Bria.

Please se https://www.briaskonberg.com/bio and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bria_Skonberg