Happy Thursday! This week we are highlighting JAS June Experience artist: Bria Skonberg.
A Canadian born singer, trumpeter and songwriter, Bria has been a force in the new generation with her bold horn melodies and smoky vocals. Critics and fellow performers can’t get enough of Bria and everything we have read is pack full of praises and catchy quotes. So this week we decided we would feature several of our favorite quotes about Bria:
“I’m a trumpalist! I play vocalet! I’m a hybrid; I’m a swamp monster. An X-man!” – Bria Skonberg on herself
“Bria looks like a Scandinavian angel, plays trumpet like a red-hot devil and sings like a dream” – Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal
“It’s such a groove watching my skol sister follow in the path of Pops, Louis Armstrong, the one who started it all… She even follows his motto, play it don’t say it!!” – Quincy Jones
“Bria radiates an energy that is so refreshing to see, and her compositional chops are on par with her ability to swing” – Bucky Pizzarelli
“Bria Skonberg… A millennial shaking up the jazz world” – Vanity Fair
“It’s a rare talent that can straddle – and dare request membership in – the trumpet artist continuum emanating from Louis Armstrong and progressing down through his “Neo Orleans” progeny… However, with her bravura performance on So is the Day, Bria confirms that she is not only indeed a triple threat musician – player, vocalist and composer – but also that that esteemed lineage, consummate entertainers all, would heartily approve her membership… She exhibits stylistic shades of Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, and Diana Krall. She has a beautiful voice – both soul sultry and innocent sweet – and an instrumentalist’s feel for melodic line and rhythm…” – Nicholas Mondello, All About Jazz
“On her debut (U.S.) recording, trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skoberg makes a diverse musical statement… it’s clear she’s up to more than nostalgia. On trumpet, she’s been nurtured in the pre-bop traditions but stretches beyond to more modern approaches. Her singing chops may remind of Norah Jones… and she’s excellent in the duo with veteran John Pizzarelli” – Greg Thomas, NY Daily News
“One of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” – Wall Street Journal
“Trad fusion, that’s what it is. i’ve got a wah-wah setup with a little bit of distortion on it. I’ve got a pretty good Slash impression, I’ve got a pretty good Jimi Hendrix impression so far. It’s just finding ways to do it tastefully and just kind of sneak it in there with the traditional-jazz audience” – Bria Skonberg on herself