By Charles Hallman
Staff Writer
Syreeta Thompson deftly combines gospel with jazz. Her second album, In His Presence, was released May 3, and she held a release show in conjunction with the 26th Annual Stellar Awards in Nashville.
In a phone interview, Thompson recently talked with the MSR about her latest effort.
“I wanted to capture a live audience feel,” she explained. “It is a replica of a Sunday morning church service. So you are going to get a little bit of praise and worship, some good dancing music, good devotional, old school church and some contemporary music as well as some nice hymns.”
Known as “The Trumpet Lady,” Thompson says this moniker was given to her by a member of her church. “There is a guy who goes to my church [who] would call me ‘trumpet lady’ every time he saw me,” she recalled. “It is something that people remember” about her, but “I prefer that people call me Syreeta.”
When asked about her musical style, Thompson easily pointed out, “All of it is the same. The only reason why people in gospel call it jazz is because I’m blowing an instrument. People [in gospel] tend to label it as jazz when they see you playing an instrument. And if you do a gospel song in jazz, they recognize it as a spiritual and gospel because jazz artists think totally different than gospel artists.
“It is all relative to me because I know the background — the only difference between gospel and jazz is the lyrical content,” said Thompson, a trained musician who studied at a Chicago conservatory of music at age 12. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in film scoring and jazz composition and arranging.
Her mother got her involved in music almost as soon as she learned to walk, noted Thompson. “I was in music seven to nine days a week,” she said jokingly. “Private lessons during the week — on Saturday I was in marching band and jazz band. Then on Sunday I was at church, playing. That’s been my whole life.
“I played the clarinet first. The trumpet actually was my second choice of instrument,” Thompson added, crediting Earth, Wind and Fire and Lee Morgan among her musical influences. Wynton Marsalis and Dorinda Clark-Cole (the latter also appears on her latest recording effort) are her mentors.
“Wynton gave me my first trumpet bag,” said Thompson. “He’s responsible for [my being] on the East Coast. He developed my musicianship. Cole is one of the first gospel artists who recognized [my] style… She helped develop my artist side.”
Most importantly, Nancy Facen — her mother — has had the biggest influence on Thompson’s life. “I really credit my mother for being the person who shaped and molded me. She taught me how to be a young lady and to always stand for good character and integrity. She [also] taught me about perseverance, and being able to stick things out even when it gets rough.”
Especially when you are a Black woman “in an all-Caucasian world in terms of being formally trained, it can be a little bit testing,” noted Thompson, who also has toured and worked with Abeyance and Tito Puente. She also chairs the instrumental music department at the Cicely Tyson School of Fine and Performing Arts in between her weekend gigs: “A lot of people don’t know that I am an educator.
“Normally on Fridays I’m on airplanes more, and I am back late Sunday night or first thing Monday morning. It becomes rough sometimes [but] I make sure I eat very healthy, and I work out during the week, and I’m in bed early [as well]. So when I travel, my body is rested.”
“Victory,” the first single from In His Presence, was released in June.
No matter the musical genre she is placed in, Thompson believes her jazzy instrumental style along with her vocal flexibilities have helped propel her among today’s hot female artists, as well as helped attract a solid crossover audience.
“I believe you have to build momentum before you release something,” she emphasized. “As you build momentum, then you create the need and demand for your product.”
Syreeta Thompson’s In His Presence is available on iTunes and her web site: www.trumpet lady.com.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
Support Black local news
Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.
