San Antonio based musician Curtis Calderon found an outlet for creativity and more through his trumpet.
“One of the things I’ve always liked about jazz is you can express yourself immediately,” Calderon told the audience at Jazz, TX at a gig in May, 2019. “Like, you might play the melody, but then you can just play, and you can get out all the nonsense that’s in life… out of your horn.”
For this set, Calderon brought a book full of original songs to the stage at Jazz, TX, that club owner Doc Watkins compared to some of the best, such as Lee Morgan or Clifford Brown.
“I think melody is the most important thing,” Calderon explained to Watkins. “I always tell trumpet players, if you play the melody as great as your solo… they’ll hire you again.”
Hear Calderon and his quartet play original songs like “I-35” and “Rush Hour” (is there a traffic pattern here?) in this set, recorded live at Jazz, TX. Tune in to Texas Public Radio on Saturday nights at 7:00, or get a preview by listening to the audio player below.
