Feature Friday with Jeremy Pelt

Fourth of July is right around the corner! How are you celebrating? Barbeque and fireworks? Going to the lake house? Long weekend out of town? I don’t know about you, but to me, it sure feels like I have been craving a vacation for a while now, so I am really looking forward to a long weekend with family and friends. We could all use a break to relax and recharge, and what better way to get the festivities started than with a Feature Friday?

This week we are speaking with one of the most preeminent young trumpeters in the jazz world—Jeremy Pelt. Voted by Downbeat Magazine as a rising star on the trumpet, Pelt has performed with some of the biggest names in jazz, like Cliff Barbaro, Keter Betts, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and Ravi Coltrane. His latest release is Soundtrack, which Apple Music calls sublime and soaring in its harmonic imagination.

Now, you’re lucky enough to get to learn a bit more about this fiery and lyrical trumpeter …

What motivates you?

That’s a hard question to answer, as my motivation changes daily.

 What games did you play when you were a child?

Monopoly.

 What was your first job?

 My first job was a student! Alongside that, I was very entrepreneurial and to that effect I had a car washing business in my neighborhood where I would travel with a pail and sponge and wash people’s cars. I called it “Jeremy’s Jolly Car Wash.”

 What was your most beloved song as a child and why?

I didn’t have any beloved songs in my childhood but, interestingly enough, there are old songs that I hear to this day that take me back to my childhood, and then that’s when I remember the songs fondly. But it’s filtered through an adult lens.