On August 16, jazz vocalist and trumpeter Jumaane Smith, a native of Seattle, Washington, will be celebrating the release of his new album, Come on Home. “This album is my life experience put into music, all of the ups and downs, peaks and valleys, trials and tribulations,” Smith says.
When Smith was a kid he went through a lot of tough things at home, and in the midst of all that trauma, the power of music found him. His interest in wanting to become a musician started at the age of 10 when he started playing the trumpet, and soon after, it became his closest friend and the one thing in life I felt was uplifting and positive for him.
“I started to see that the more effort I put into it, the more positivity I got back. I was lucky enough to have some incredible mentors in music growing up in Seattle, who opened up my eyes to a world of possibilities outside of the trauma I had experienced, and a supportive community of hundreds of young aspiring musicians who helped lift me up,” he added.
It wasn’t until he moved to New York City at the age of 18 for college that he realized the enormity of the opportunity I’d had during high school.
With his high school, he traveled around the region to various music festivals, and he had the opportunity to meet many of my musical heroes and learn from the masters. That’s when he wanted to dedicate his time to becoming a great musician.
His career got started while he was working in clubs around the northwest in his teens, and he also freelanced in a few different bands.
According to him, his career really started once he moved to NYC in 2000 at the age of 18, when he got a full scholarship to attend the Juilliard School. He was a part of the very first class of jazz studies there.
“After my time at Juilliard, I joined Michael Buble’s band and have been fortunate to work with him since. When I joined his band, he was just coming up and we were playing small theaters, hard to believe that was nearly 20 years ago now.”
As a product of the inaugural class of Juilliard’s Jazz Studies program, where he was mentored by the legendary Wynton Marsalis, Smith honed his skills and developed a profound understanding of jazz tradition and innovation.
Since then, his career has been nothing short of extraordinary. From collaborating with Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin to sharing the spotlight with pop sensations like the Jonas Brothers, Smith has effortlessly navigated diverse musical landscapes while staying true to his jazz roots. His remarkable 18-year tenure as lead trumpeter and vocalist with Michael Bublé not only showcased his virtuosity, but also solidified his status as one of the most sought-after musicians in the industry.
For Smith, this record represents a deeply personal and ultimately redeeming homecoming.
“While the title track, ‘Come On Home’, expresses the pain and blues of my personal loss and shortcomings, the album tells a story that includes my early trauma and grief alongside the joy and refuge I found in music. With this album, comprised of my original works and a few new arrangements, I feel like I’ve truly come home.”
He stated that working on his first and second album was amazing, and he thoroughly enjoyed the process of both. “For my 1st album, I set out to make a classic romantic, dreamy album with lush arrangements. Over the course of a year or so I crafted the album along with my team of incredible musicians and special guests,” he continued.
For his 2nd album, he set out to make a high energy modern take on the legacy of Louis Armstrong, Louie Prima and Louis Jordan and it was also an incredibly fun experience for him.
“For Come on Home, I decided to write the arrangements and produce the entire record on my own which took my arranging and production skills to another level. It feels like it was a natural progression for me to write, arrange, and produce the entire album and it was such a rewarding and inspiring accomplishment as an artist,” he stated.
This album came together organically. Smith started a new band with some incredible musicians shortly after the pandemic.
“Working with them was so much fun, we all just immediately clicked. I felt like I had to capture some of that magic on recording so I started writing and, at the first opportunity, I had to get in the studio,” he said. “We recorded the whole record in 2 days at an amazing studio called Dreamland in Woodstock NY. Those 2 days were so much fun and the body of work and nuance we were able to capture during that short time is just insane.”
Smith says this album is inspired by the great legacy of black American music and it invokes a sense of pride and inspiration. “As we go through all life’s ups and downs, through it all, good music is the soundtrack to our lives.”
“When you listen to a song or album that really speaks to you and where you are in life, and you feel like the song was made just for or about you, that’s when music is most powerful,” he continued.
“The music can lift you up and teleport you to a magical space where you forget about all the ins and outs of your daily life for that brief moment in time. That’s the type of record I set out to make here, and I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out.”
The album will be available to listen to or download on multiple streaming services, including Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube/YouTube Music, and the iTunes Store.
Smith will be going on tour for this record starting August 28, in Wilmington, Delaware. Find more tour dates, RSVP for ticket alerts, or purchase tickets here: https://www.jumaanesmith.com/tour.
