Trumpet Player, USF Alumnus, and Adjunct Professor James Suggs Brings Global Performance Experience to Students
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Professional trumpeter and USF music alumnus James Suggs is in his second year of
teaching as adjunct professor of trumpet at the USF School of Music.
Suggs brings 30 years of experience as a trumpet player, having played in professional
big bands, popular music groups, cruise ship performances, and, most recently, as
a recording artist with his solo album. This rich experience, combined with lessons
learned from his teachers, informs his teaching style today.
鈥淚 try to approach it from both sides, from what my teachers taught me鈥攁ll the great
lessons I learned from all the teachers I鈥檝e had鈥攁nd also my life, putting it into
action,鈥� said Suggs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to say 鈥榦k I studied this, I鈥檓 good at this,鈥�
in the practice room. But it鈥檚 another thing to be like 鈥榦k, I鈥檝e done this one the
road 鈥� I did this last night on the gig.鈥欌��
Suggs blends his lived experience with the lessons learned from those who taught him,
providing a narrative perspective to students that goes beyond technique and theory
alone. He directs the Jazz Ensemble 2 and Jazz Combo groups at USF in addition to
teaching jazz trumpet lessons鈥攁 class open to USF students of all majors.
He is an introspective and experienced mentor for students eager to improve their
playing.
Some of the best advice he gives students is to step away from their instrument and
listen critically to the music.
鈥淎ny chance you can get to listen鈥攔eally listen to music鈥攖hat is the most important,鈥�
said Suggs.
He recalls the listening sessions he had with friends while he was in college. They
would put in a CD and listen to the same track repeatedly, each time listening to
a new minute detail of the music: the drummer鈥檚 right hand, the drummer鈥檚 left hand,
the pianist鈥檚 right hand. This type of critical listening, Suggs says, is what musicians
need to do to take their playing to the next level.
鈥淎nd immediately you start hearing these nuances, these amazing things that are happening,鈥�
said Suggs, 鈥渁nd those are the things that separate an average musician鈥攁 mediocre
musician鈥攁nd a really good musician. Those little things.鈥�
Suggs road to being a professional trumpet player began at the age of 9. At the age
of 10, he met trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis backstage at a gig in Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
where he received an impromptu music lesson from the jazz great. Determined to become
a jazz trumpet player, Suggs went on to take trumpet lessons and attend ja