Artist Features
Jazz Guitar Georgia Style
A stalwart of the Atlanta jazz scene is guitarist Trey Wright.
In addition to his active playing schedule, Trey is a full-time professor of jazz music at Kennesaw State University just north and west of Atlanta. As an author, he has written for JUST JAZZ GUITAR as well as JAZZ GUITAR TODAY.
JB: What inspired you to play jazz guitar?
TW: I have been blessed with many great teachers including my first teacher David Martin. In high school, I had developed the ability to play pop songs and blues, but I wanted to go deeper. I asked my teacher if we could study classical guitar (jazz was not on my radar at that point) and I vividly remember him saying “The two most difficult guitar styles are jazz and classical – let’s start with jazz first”. Not sure we ever made it to classical, but he made me a cassette tape of Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and George Benson Breezin’. I’ve been hooked ever since!
JB: You studied with jazz pianist Steve Dancz. As a guitarist, what did you learn most from him?
TW: Steve is an incredible mentor. He helped me understand music from a broad perspective and helped me approach jazz as a musician and not necessarily just as a guitarist. As a result, I was able to avoid many of the pitfalls that beginning jazz guitarists fall into and see beyond the fretboard. He also encouraged me to learn piano so that I could understand the similarities and differences between the instruments. This has made a huge difference in my chord playing on the guitar and my approach to accompanying other musicians.
Also, Steve is a minimalist and helped me to clarify and declutter my improvisations and compositions. He has influenced and inspired multiple generations of musicians that attended UGA in the 1990s and beyond.
JB: To you, what are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums and why?
TW: This is a tough question! The following albums were extremely important in my development:
Grant Green – Feelin’ the Spirit. This album changed everything for me. I discovered it early in college and quickly sought out other musicians to perform the songs from this album. This record features jazz renditions of spirituals and Grant’s playing is aggressive and powerful – it was the first time that I made the connection between the blues guitar styles of my youth and jazz guitar. There was no going back after this …
Wes Montgomery – the Verve Collection. This album was a compilation of Wes’ Verve Recordings that included most of his classic live album Smokin’ at the Half Note. I was inspired by the energy and creativity of Wes’ playing on “Impressions”, “Four on Six” and “Unit 7”. I loved the way he built his solos and the way the rhythm section interacted with him.
Live! – Jim Hall. I discovered this album much later in my development. I had just released my first solo record Where I’m Calling From and was looking for a more textural and motivic approach to my playing and compositions. The bass player in my trio turned me on to this album and I can still remember hearing “Angel Eyes” for the first time. This was the sound I was after!
JB: You have performed with bassists Jimmy Haslip, John Patitucci, and saxophonist Joe Lovano. Talk about working with these three musicians.
TW: I performed with Joe Lovano in a big band setting while I was a graduate student at Georgia State but performed with Jimmy Haslip and John Patitucci in more intimate and impactful small groups. I was a last-minute sub (for my teacher Steve Dancz) in a quartet performance with John Patitucci at the University of Georgia. I was young and had no business playing with a master musician like John! He was so gracious with me even though he knew I was a fish out of water. This was such an important lesson for me. Always be humble and realize what an honor it is to share the gift of music – regardless of the situation. I had the opportunity to play with Jimmy Haslip twice for concerts at the Atlanta Institute of Music. We played some of his music written for the Yellowjackets – it was so challenging and inspiring to play this music with him! We also recorded together on jazz pianist Randy Hoexter’s record Fromage. From these experiences, I’ve learned that many of the best musicians are some of the most humble and most joyful to work with.
JB: You perform regularly with singer Laura Coyle. Tell about some of the unique joys and challenges of supporting a singer in a duo.
TW: Laura has pivoted away from music to focus on her work as an educator teaching workshops and lessons in Adobe Illustrator and Creative Cloud. From 2017-2020, I focused almost exclusively on the duo. Playing in a duo is the ultimate tightrope dance – it could fall apart at any moment, or you might make it to the other side! I jokingly call duo playing a series of “musical trust falls”. The freedom of duo playing is exhilarating but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. Can you fill-up the sound to create the illusion of multiple instruments? How can you “imply” feels and styles without being able to play them directly?
JB: I understand that you regularly play with the Joe Gransden big band. Talk about what you find refreshing about performing in this situation.
TW: Over the past ten years, Joe has been building the band’s repertoire and reputation. They are now one of the preeminent acts in the region (and beyond!). Recently, Joe has been adding guitar to some select concerts throughout the year. I am always thankful to get the call, and I love playing with the band! It is the exact opposite of the duo environment – just groove and no trust falls! It’s a blast!
JB: Tell us about your new CD Begin Again.
TW: Begin Again was released on Blue Canoe Records and features my trio (with Marc Miller on Bass and Marlon Patton on drums) and some of my favorite Atlanta musicians, including saxophonists Sam Skelton and Mace Hibbard, vocalist Laura Coyle, pianist Tommy Somerville, and percussionist Darren Stanley. I was recovering from a depressive episode in the period leading up to this record, and that experience informs the album. Many of the original compositions also reference meditation, which has made a profound impact on my life. In addition, the album includes a recording of Joni Mitchell’s “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” and a song by my late musical partner Carl Lindberg.
JB: It appears that you sometimes perform with an Ibanez guitar and a Godin nylon string. What do you appreciate about these?
TW: My two “working” jazz guitars include a Sadowsky SS-15 and an Ibanez GB-100. Both guitars have unique personalities that work well in different environments. The Sadowsky is my preferred concert instrument, but the Ibanez can cut through a larger or louder ensemble. Recently, when playing with my trio (or solo), I’ve been keeping the Ibanez GB-100 in DADGAD tuning and the Sadowsky in standard tuning. This allows me to adopt many of my original compositions that were written in alternate tunings for a trio setting.
The Godin nylon string is a unique instrument and is perfect for some of the compositions that I write with saxophonist Mace Hibbard. The Godin allows me to play nylon string at full band volumes which is really refreshing.
JB: As an educator, what traps do jazz guitar students easily find themselves in?
TW: I think the challenge for young jazz guitar students is understanding music beyond the guitar. It’s easy to learn shapes on the guitar and not really understand what you are playing or how to manipulate chords and solo lines to create the sound you are looking for. As a way out of this, I make my students learn scales, arpeggios, chords, song melodies, and lines all over the instrument so that they can have access to that information regardless of where they are on the fretboard. Another great approach is to learn scales and melodies on one string at a time. This more pianist approach helps the student to move beyond shapes and understand what is actually happening in the music.
JB: Talk about the gigs you do and how you make a living playing music.
TW: I enjoy playing a wide range of gigs from solo guitar to original music with my trio/quartet and big bands such as the Joe Gransden Big Band and the Georgia Symphony Jazz Orchestra (GSO Jazz!). I am a full-time faculty member of the Bailey School of Music at Kennesaw State University, and I also enjoy teaching private lessons on Zoom and in person at my house in Roswell, GA. I think it is important for musicians to develop multiple streams of income. As we all found out during COVID, performance opportunities can disappear unexpectedly, and is important for musicians to have multiple revenue sources.
I am excited for the New Year and look forward to continuing my weekly YouTube performance series, a new monthly Jazz History lecture series at the Strand in Marietta, a possible trio recording project, and continuing my education articles for Jazz Guitar Today.
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