Welcome to the website of trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator Jamey Simmons
Feel free to explore media, materials in my store including jazz ensemble charts, brass music and jazz solo transcriptions. Also check out the free materials in the education blog section.
“Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18,19
Dear friends,
I cannot think of a more appropriate verse for what Jesus Christ is doing in my life. These past years have been a challenge, but Christ has been with me. I am amazed to see how He works, how He provides opportunities, opens doors, fulfills my longings to serve and worship Him, and makes ways for us to go forth proclaiming His love. That is precisely what He has done for me. I have been given the opportunity to travel to Poland, to a be a light in communities of darkness there.
I will be traveling May 15th – 31st to Warsaw with Proclaim! International’s International Cultural Exchange Jazz Tour. Centered in Warsaw, we will drive to locations around Poland (north to cities in the North Sea area, and areas in the southeast by the border with Ukraine). This will provide me with opportunities to share Christ with people attending the concerts and take part in Gospel-centered, evangelistic music-making with other fellow believers.
Poland is a predominately Catholic country (86 – 91%), but for many the church is just a cultural tradition. I am excited about revealing the reality of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, with real connections to local evangelical churches that have been developed through years of relationship-building. There have been stories from my bandmates about profound discussions with hurting people (some of them are Ukrainian refugees) after hearing and taking part in the concerts/presentations.
Why jazz? Because our great American cultural gift is a blessing and can be used in amazing ways. Blues, jazz, and Gospel music came out of sin and suffering but have been transformed into something redemptive. Sound like a familiar story? The whole goal with our performances is to testify to the power and beauty of Jesus Christ through creative compositions and improvisations. The people that are a part of this ensemble are an interesting mix of musicians. Several of them are:
Wally Brath, jazz pianist, Assistant Professor of Worship Arts, Grace College, IN
Greg Tardy, jazz saxophonist, Associate Professor of Jazz Saxophone, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Mark Boling, jazz guitarist and music director, Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar (retired), University of Tennessee – Knoxville
John Bowers, bassist, ministry coordinator of Proclaims! Ministries
I know that there are more people that will be a part of the ensemble, but I’ll get to know them at our first rehearsal in Warsaw on May 16th.
This is an opportunity for me to become a witness for our Lord. But it is also an opportunity for you to pray for this trip for the following:
- For my ability to prepare for the stamina to make good music every day for 2 weeks. To create beauty takes discipline and wisdom.
- For our team, that the logistical details and the artistry of the musicians come together for God’s glory.
- For hearts receptive to the Gospel, and lives to be changed by God’s unfailing grace.
- For God’s spiritual direction and protection over this endeavor.
For those of you interested more in the Proclaim! International Ministries mission, please see their website at https://proclaiminternational.com/
For those interested in donating toward the trip, follow this link or QR code:
https://give.ministrylinq.com/App/Form/95019d19-dcb6-4be1-8351-53a8215c75e1
Thank you for your prayers for a successful mission. This has been an answer to prayer as I seek to serve Him with my talents. “…He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”
Love in Christ,
Jamey Simmons
Normandy, TN, USA
I’m very honored to play and direct the Nashville-based Establishment Big Band on April 2nd, at the WO Smith School. See below for ticket details. I’ve worked up a version of Wayne Shorter’s “Chief Crazy Horse”, and they’ll play a chart I wrote last year for the memory of my father called “A Father’s Love”. Bring 2 friends!
You simply have to hear this recording of my chart on “Coventry Carol” by the Taiwanese Taipei Professional Orchestra as led by alto saxophonist Jim Geddes. A great sounding band all around, playing a challenging chart.
NEW CHART OUT ON HERBIE HANCOCK’S “CHAMELEON”
Ever get tired of the jam band approach to this tune? Here’s a twist on a fusion classic. Right now order at
sheetmusic direct https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1378217/Product.aspx
Sheet Music Plus https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/chameleon-digital-sheet-music/22572699
Check out the video below, and don’t forget about the fall jazz chart sale in my store!
I’m very proud of the students in MTSU Jazz Ensemble 1 for their excellent recording of my chart on Gary Smulyan’s tune “Olivia’s Arrival”. Check out one of the greatest baritone saxophonists on the chart with special efforts by MTSU seniors Jordan Morack and Zach Tyler.
I’m pleased to announce the release of a recording by my MTSU colleague, tubist Chris Combest, featuring the newly commissioned solo tuba piece I composed for him called Under Tennessee Skies. It is now available on Apple Music, and I’ve posted the program notes below as a teaser. For more information on the recording go to https://www.chriscombest.com/recordings
For the published sheet music see the Cimarron Press website https://www.cimarronmusic.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=under+tennessee+skies
“Under Tennessee Skies” by Jamey Simmons
“The Incident in Nickajack Cave” reflects a moment in the life of country music legend Johnny Cash. While visiting Nickajack Cave, outside of Chattanooga, the singer decided to end his life. He described it this way: “There in Nickajack Cave I became conscious of a very clear, simple idea: I was not in charge of my destiny. I was not in charge of my own death. I was going to die at God’s time, not mine.” The movement utilizes the ambiguity of augmented chords, and finally resolves to a slower, more relaxed ending.
The Sultana was a 260-foot long steamer that worked on the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Designed to hold 376 passengers, the boat was loaded with over 2100 Union prisoners-of-war from Andersonville and other Confederate prisons. Due to corruption among army officials and steamboat operators, the mechanically compromised vessel went north from Memphis, leading to a boiler explosion that killed approximately 1700 people. In “Lament of the Sultana,” the recurring steamboat horn (a concert C) can be heard throughout, with increasingly frantic chromatic melodies that die down to the ending pedal C.
The reel is an ancient Scottish dance that migrated to North America that influenced bluegrass, country, and zydeco music. “Jonesborough Reel” was inspired by a family visit to the East Tennessee town in summer 2020. Nestled west of the Appalachians, it is the oldest city in the state. Using the classic ABA form of the reel, the tuba plays a line that incorporates some unexpected contemporary sounds, but still retains the dance feel and “twangy” approach of a fiddle player.
I’m very proud of MTSU’s jazz area students and faculty for being featured in a recent Downbeat Magazine article as one of “Five Gems of Jazz Education.” See the link for the article: https://www.mtsu.edu/music/pdf/5gemsdownbeatmtsu.pdf
Check out video and audio of The Duo/Trio Project featuring Matt Endahl and Rory Hoffman performing Django Reinhardt’s lovely tune “Nuages.”
“Who Am I?” was inspired by the poem of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Below is the poem, and my dedication to prisoners of faith and conscience. Feel free to download, read stories of the prisoners below, and consider a donation to https://www.persecution.com/
Who am I?
Music by Jamey Simmons
Poetry by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Who am I? They often tell me,
I step from my cell’s confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a squire from his country house.
Who am I? They often tell me,
I used to speak to my warders
Freely and friendly and clearly,
As though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me,
I carried the days of misfortune
Equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one who is used to win.
Am I really then what others say of me?
Or am I only what I know of myself?
Restless, and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectations of great events,
Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!
I dedicate this composition to the following prisoners:
Zhao Weilang, China, unregistered church member, held 1693 days through the present
Twen Theodros, Eritrea, illegal convert, held 2004 - present
Abraham Ben Moses, Indonesia, illegal proselytizing, held 434 days - present
Wang Quanzhang, China, legal defense of dissidents, held 2015 - present
Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel, Eritrea, former mathematics professor, pastor of unrecognized church, held 2004 - present