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Meet Trey Wright in Roswell

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Trey Wright.

Trey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I sometimes describe myself as an accidental musician. I started playing guitar at age 14 and though I took it seriously I did not consider it a likely career path. In fact, I gave up music shortly after starting college at the University of Georgia. By my sophomore year, I felt that something was missing in my life and upon the encouragement of a close friend I auditioned for the UGA Jazz Band and began to take Jazz Improvisation courses taught by jazz pianist and composer Steve Dancz. It was through Steve’s course that I met bassist Carl Lindberg. Carl and I began to get together outside of class, and in 1994, he and I co-founded the band Squat with local musicians Tommy Somerville and Carlton Owens. In 1995, I was still at UGA pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociology when I became ill with carbon monoxide poisoning. At the time Squat was drawing large crowds at Athens venues such as the High Hat and the Georgia Theatre and I took this incident as a sign to change career paths to pursue music full time.

In addition to the two decades I spent performing with Squat, I moved to Atlanta in 1998 and began to freelance in the area and lead groups under my own name. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to perform at a wide variety of venues including the Atlanta Jazz Festival; the Montreux Jazz Festival; Jazz a Vienne in France; the World Sacred Music Festival in Bangalore, India; and the Festival of International Theatre in Casablanca, Morocco. Several of my compositions have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and two of my CDs have been featured as part of Delta Airlines In-Flight Entertainment.

Recently, I have been performing on a regular basis as a duo with Atlanta vocalist Laura Coyle. The group plays an eclectic mix of jazz standards, Brazilian Bossa Nova and Samba, original music, and songs by our favorite songwriters including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Dolly Parton. Over the past two years, the Laura Coyle and Trey Wright duo has performed at Morgan Hall at Kennesaw State University, the Athens Jazz Festival, Agnes Scott College, Hendershots, the Roswell Arts Festival, Wolf Mountain Vineyards, the Columbus Jazz Society series at the Loft, and the Churchill Grounds series at Mason Tavern. In addition, we play weddings and private events throughout the area.

I am also active as a music educator in the area. At Kennesaw State University, I run the jazz guitar and jazz combo programs in addition to teaching courses including the History of Rock, History of Jazz, Jazz Theory and Composition and Jazz Improvisation. I am also now co-directing the KSU School of Music Music History in Europe Study Abroad program and teach Jazz in Europe as part of the new program.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not exactly. It took me a long time to embrace my path as a musician. Like many artists, I struggled with self-doubt and it took me many years to establish my musical identity. That being said, I have been very fortunate with the opportunities that I have been given along the way. I have been blessed with getting the opportunity to regularly work with inspiring musicians and great friends including Sam Skelton, Mace Hibbard, Marlon Patton, Justin Chesarek, Marc Miller, Randy Hoexter, Laura Coyle and countless others in the Atlanta and Athens area.

In my late 30’s and early 40’s, I struggled with depression and burn out. At that point, I had been a professional musician for 20 years and was feeling the weight of constant nights out away from my family, the wear and tear of many years on the road, and the stress of always feeling the pressure to perform. The years of running from gig to gig had worn me down and I no longer felt inspired to play music. During this time period, I was mostly freelancing and was accepting gigs simply based on what the gig paid, versus asking myself if the gig was a good fit for me and my long-term priorities. After taking some time away from regularly performing and a long period of soul searching I was able to regroup and re-enter the field of music in a way that worked for me. It was around that time that I began talking with vocalist Laura Coyle about forming a duo. After several years of freelancing, it has been great to focus on a collaborative project. I am very excited about the duo and the directions we are headed in.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Trey Wright – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Laura Coyle and Trey Wright duo are unique in that we are pulling from the great tradition of classic jazz guitar/vocal duos such as Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald, and Tuck and Patti but are also putting on our own spin on the format. Although we are both jazz musicians, our shows are also heavily influenced by performances by acoustic singer-songwriters. We engage with each other and the audience throughout a performance and pull from a wide range of traditions including blues, gospel, jazz, folk, and Bossa Nova. It is our goal to put a personal touch on the music that we play and to really make a connection with our audience. I feel strongly that we can connect with a range of audiences including fans of jazz, country, and folk music and through our music we are exposing new audiences to jazz.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In early 2019, I will be releasing a new CD on Blue Canoe Records. The CD, tentatively titled From Now On, combines many of the musical groups that I play in and features former members of Squat (in a tribute to our late bassist Carl Lindberg), the Hibbard/Wright Project (a project with Grammy-winning Saxophonist Mace Hibbard) and duo partner Laura Coyle. The album features seven original compositions and a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”.

Also, in 2019, I will be recording a duo CD with Laura Coyle and will continue to focus on our work together. Upcoming duo performances include Berry College, Serenbe, Hendershots in Athens, the Athens Jazz Festival and a concert at Kennesaw State University featuring the music of Joni Mitchell.

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Image Credit:
Bill Head, Brian Weaver, Djaren Photography

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