Lift me, won't you lift me above the old routine. Make it nice, play it clean, Jazzman.
-Carole King’s Jazzman


Columbus has many stunning gems embedded in its deep artistic cloth. Byron Stripling is one that is especially polished.

The artistic director of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra is also an accomplished trumpeter, singer and actor. He has soloed with the Boston Pops, the American Jazz Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony and more. He has graced stages all over the world, including the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall. He starred in the Broadway musical Satchmo and the 42nd Street production of From Second Avenue to Broadway.

But Stripling’s resume hardly outlines his performance moxie. Known for his intensity and comedic timing, Stripling isn’t afraid to improvise, to get his audience involved, and to do everything he can to ensure they come back.

Byron Stripling took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to CityScene about his musical pedigree, moving to Central Ohio from New York City and clowns.

CityScene: Where are you originally from and what made you decide to come to Columbus?
Byron Stripling: I’m originally from Atlanta, but I can’t claim that as a home because I moved around a lot as a kid. I went to Kentucky, Colorado, Minnesota, St. Louis, Texas. My father was a musician, and that was one of the great things he did was leave. He taught me that things and people can hold you back, and that leaving is a great thing. I got to meet new friends and see the glory and majesty of color all over the country, and realize the differences we all have are what we actually all have in common. It helped artistically because it offered infinite possibilities.

I lived in New York City for about 15 years before coming here. I first came as a soloist for the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, and the first and only art director at the organization decided to retire. He told me he thought I should apply. In the meantime, I felt the support for arts in NYC was going down. There are fewer concerts being performed there. But when I came to Columbus, I found a band that was actually thriving, and that had tremendous support from the community. It was so overwhelming I wanted to be a part of it. So I applied and got it and moved in 2002 or so. That was after, of course, my wife (Alexis) approved.

CS: What was your original impression of Columbus?
BS: My original intention was to split my time, and fly into Columbus from New York. I did that for the first two years or so. But as I was coming here I began to realize more and more this isn’t a bad community. It’s actually kind of cool here; we could probably have a life here. We liked a lot of areas and looked everywhere and finally decided to move to Westerville.

CS: Has your impression changed since you’ve been here?
BS: My impression of Columbus has improved because of what we’ve been able to do with CJO. Here is a great band that has wonderful support from the community that is being awarded grants nationally and locally and that is bringing in about 60 percent of its income from ticket sales. To establish that model for a jazz group is extremely rare. We have it, New York City has it and I’d say about three other cities have it and that’s it. I have to pinch myself sometimes because that just doesn’t happen and we bust our tails to make it happen.

CS: When did you realize you had musical talent?
BS: My dad was a classical singer, so you could say it’s my pedigree. But people think it’s a natural talent and I think that’s an overrated way of thinking. It takes a tremendous amount of work to make me a good player. My father told me if I wanted to do this I would have to my butt off and I’ve taken his advice.


CS: You’re known to have a vibrant stage presence. How important is that?
BS: Being the conductor is like being the master of ceremonies. You need to keep your audience engaged or they’re not going to come back. Everything I do on stage is calculated. Practicing is the key to everything. The hard thing is making sure you don’t go into auto pilot mode. As an artist, it’s important to continue to refine your skills and your work, and to come up with new material and skills and techniques as much as you can. We are improvising up there. It’s like watching someone think on their feet. The audience becomes a part of that and can influence the outcome with their enthusiasm.


CS: When did you learn to play? Why trumpet?
BS: I was very young – elementary school age. In my family, music was central. When it came time to pick an instrument, my ears and thoughts went toward the trumpet. It was what I always listened to and what I knew.

CS: Who are your idols? And what are some of your favorite career moments?
BS: My idols are the usuals: Dizzy (Gillespie). Louie (Armstrong). Miles (Davis). Playing at Carnegie Hall will always stick out, as will the Hollywood Bowl as a soloist. I did a television show with the Boston Pops that meant a lot. I play in Europe a lot and have played in Japan, Singapore and many other places around the world. I am always looking forward to the next performance. I have a voracious artistic appetite and I want to do it all and play anywhere I can.

CS: What are your goals with the CJO?
BS: One of the things we did this summer was go to Vail (Colorado). The people in Colorado went crazy. They responded more enthusiastically than I think anyone imagined they would. I think (the CJO) doesn’t know how good they are. So my goal is to get as many opportunities to play outside and share with the world how great this band is. That means playing Carnegie Hall; that means playing Los Angeles. I guarantee wherever we go, people will be blown away.

My subgoal is to get people to realize that a performing jazz organization has the power to move and influence people’s lives as much as any other art form. The mere act of singing and playing music brings happiness not only to myself, but to others as well. That is pretty special and I intend to keep on doing it for as long as I can.

CS: What can someone expect to see at a CJO performance if they’ve never been?
BS: People now have a choice; they can rent a Blockbuster movie, surf the Internet, Tivo their favorite shows, etc. When I was younger, we had none of those choices. So now, every time we have a concert, it has to be an event. It has to be different every time. The essence of jazz is improvisation. I think people can expect something different, they can expect to be surprised. We’ve had audience participation, movies, lights, sound, we’ve even had a clown join us on stage before, which might have turned off some people at first, but then they realized something like that, so unexpected and out of the blue, can really work. If you want to be moved, inspired, uplifted, and artistically challenged by music, then you have got to come to see us. I could try and keep explaining it, but you actually have to experience it.

Catch the Columbus Jazz Orchestra’s Motown and the Birth of Soul performances, Jan. 16-17 at the Southern Theatre, as part of the Great American Songbook Series. Also, from Feb. 5-8 and 11-14, the CJO joins forces with BalletMet for Jazz Moves Takes 2. Visit www.jazzartsgroup.org for more information.

Alicia Kelso is editor of CityScene.