After 17 years as a professional trumpeter, renowned musician Scotty Barnhart is finally releasing his debut album, Say It Plain. It’s been a long time coming, but the jazz vet, who has been playing with the Count Basie Orchestra for nearly two decades, says that it was well worth the wait,
“It will go down in history as a great jazz record that covers the full spectrum of jazz, no matter what your taste is,” says Barnhart, who currently teaches jazz trumpet at Florida State University.
Barnhart strives to revive the true spirit of jazz (no offense to Kenny G fans) with vivid instrumentation and immaculate composition. Jazz may have fallen by the wayside among mainstream listeners, but he’s hopeful that it will once again be fully appreciated.
“I asked Quincy Jones where he sees jazz today some years ago, and you know what he told me? Nowhere,” he recalls, disappointment lacing his voice. “And I said, ‘Oh my goodness.’ For someone like Quincy Jones, who was on the scene to see [each] major advancement in jazz from the late ‘40s on — to say that — was major. People don’t think about our music as being profound or worthy of study.”
But if Barnhart has anything to do with it, that won’t be the case for much longer. Ro got the legendary musician to break down some of the best jazz albums of this generation. –jh
Scotty Barnhart’s Decade Defining Albums:
1960 – Definitely Love Supreme by John Coltrane.
1970 – There are two that come to mind — Red Clay by Freddy Hubbard because it has funk and straight edge jazz. I would say Bitches Brew [by Miles Davis], but that was more experimental.
1990 – It’s really difficult to name one. Maybe something by Chris McBride or Jimmy Smith’s, Damn! Actually, I’ll say Wynton Marsalis, Live at the Village Vanguard.
2000s – I would like to think that some of the stuff that’s on my album could stand up. But maybe Terrence Blanchard’s, Flow.
Scotty Barnhart will perform live Friday, May 29 at The King Center in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.scottybarnhart.com.
