Saturday, January 30, 8pm

By Larry Gabriel, www.gumbospot.com, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
Photo by Barbara Barefield

When Dwight Adams calls out Mardi Gras on his trumpet, it connects the entire history of jazz from old New Orleans right up to today. That’s the mark of an accomplished musician who puts it all together. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start playing music until he was in high school. He quickly made up for lost time and moved quickly up the ranks of local brass blowers. Adams’ savory sound began simmering in the spicy Detroit jazz stew when he joined Teddy Harris’ New Breed Bebop Society at age 16 in 1981.

He earned a full scholarship to Kentucky State University where he majored in music education and performance. Today Adams teaches trumpet at Michigan State University and Ohio State University.

Through his educational endeavors Adams has touched and experienced all kinds of approaches and avenues of jazz. Now his polished style has made him one of Detroit’s top trumpet slingers shaking things up with his own ensembles.

Adams has played and recorded with Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, James Carter, Shawn Wallace and Donald Walden. He’s a mainstay in Motown’s own Stevie Wonder’s touring band.

Although Adams is an accomplished modernist this program struts back to the soulful sounds of Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and other groundbreakers who created the original jazz. Ragtime, blues, stomps and hollers are all embraced and celebrated with this ebullient ensemble. 

“Louis Armstrong is the father of jazz and one of the musicians who attracted me to play trumpet,” Adams says. “Because when he plays the music uplifts you. When I’m playing I want to play with that same kind of spirit to touch people in a special, positive way.”

Reedman Chris Collins, pianist Gary Schunk, bassist Miles Brown, drummer Sean Dobbins and violist Leslie Deshazor play with Adams as they complete the musical transit back a century to make Mardi Gras in Detroit a joyful sound.