Jazz and R&B trumpet player Lin Rountree is more than excited about his appearance at Blues Alley. The show marks his second time on the field of the intimate performing venue.
“It’s such a historically relevant club,” said this home-grown artist who now calls Detroit home. “I’m awestruck.”
As the latest performer to emerge from the “new” Detroit music factory, Rountree’s playing has been described online as “soulful, sensual and funky with the ability to connect his music to his listener’s soul.”
Rountree doesn’t deny that connection.
“I can tell by the [audience] bobbing their heads [and] watching the stage that there’s an aura in the air,” he said. “You bring the band down and you don’t hear a sound from them. Then, they respond, they applaud, they show their love.”
Although he considers himself a solo artist, Rountree has put together a backup group of players for the Blues Alley gig to highlight the urban, soul sound of his latest album, “Soultree.” This backup group of performers are local (musicians he met while playing at the Capital Jazz Festival a few months ago) and include artists on keyboard, upright bass, percussion and bass guitar.
Rountree began playing the trumpet at age 11 in his Alexandria elementary school, saying “it was a way of getting out of class.” However, the instrument seriously grew on him while in high school and he attended music workshops at the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts in D.C. A scholarship to Florida A&M University found him playing in the world-famous marching band, the Marching 100, which he still claims was the hardest, yet most rewarding work he has ever done. The university experiences cemented his lifelong love affair with jazz.
Sandy Shore, president of smoothjazz.com, noted after the release of Rountree’s first album, “Groovetree,” that he had it “in the pocket and filled with fun, sophisticated and classy material.”
For his performance at Blues Alley, he will play songs from albums “Groovetree,” “Sumthin’ Good” and “Soultree.”
Although Rountree writes 90 percent of the music he plays, he likes to mix up his live shows with standards familiar to the audience.
“We have a young vocalist, Gloria Ry-Ann who will bless us with a funky version of ‘Summertime’ and a [Minnie] Riperton song, ‘Inside My Love,’” he said. “We like to mix up cover tunes with original works to engage the people. And when they really enjoy the show, it’s like a touchdown.”
