Trumpeter Skyler Floe Releases Video Single Ahead Of Debut Record
Trumpeter Skyler Floe unveils the video for single “Opinionated (is Putting it Lightly)” from his forthcoming debut record Abstraction.
Rising star trumpeter Skyler Floe makes his debut statement on Abstraction, a nine-track collection of originals that both nod to the music of today and showcase Floe’s well-versed vocabulary in the history of jazz. Floe’s new music video for the track “Opinionated” delves into a moment of self-reflection for the trumpeter. Joining Floe is accomplished alto saxophonist Greg Ward, a Chicagoan who consistently churns out praise-worthy performances. The music featured on Abstraction reflects several pivotal moments from Floe’s life – particularly from the past ten years, and notably those that had an impact on how he hears and interprets music.
The wryly titled “Opinionated (is Putting it Lightly)” is the trumpeter’s oldest composition on the album. In the liner notes, Floe shared that the in-head was written during his first semester abroad at the Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria. During this time, the young trumpeter was exposed to new music from all around the world. “At this time I really thought I had figured out how and what I wanted to play. I immediately found that not to be the case, and quickly found myself obsessively consuming the chordless quartet albums of Ornette Coleman and live bootlegs of Miles Davis’ second quintet. Both of these musicians were so strictly themselves musically and otherwise, sometimes to a fault. These albums helped me realize that if I wanted to make my unique mark on this music, I also had to be comfortable with who I am even when others didn’t dig it. The head-in is really me being me, opinionated to a fault,” says Floe. “The trumpet solo represents the many times I’ve asked myself “Am I too much? Should I be more forbearing?” and coming to the conclusion that I just need to accept that I am who I am and some people are just not going to like that. The completely new material on the head-out represents that new found acceptance.”
Skyler’s debut album Abstractions will be released on October 8 via Next Level.
