New Music: Byron Wallen

Byron Wallen with his sea shells and BBC Jazz Award

Byron Wallen recently won the innovation prize at the BBC Jazz Awards - and his performance at the ceremony saw him making music with sea shells as well as playing the trumpet.

He is currently winning acclaim as a solo performer after appearing with The Style Council, Courtney Pine, The Roots and Us 3.

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Describe your music in three words.
Full of love.

How and why did you first start making music?
I started by playing classical piano and euphonium in the Boy's Brigade. I was always into music of all sorts - classical, soul, funk, reggae and jazz. I then got really into Louis Armstrong, Weather Report and Miles Davis and fell in love with the trumpet.

When did you discover that sea shells could sound so good?
When I played one! Then I did loads of research into the indigenous peoples of Tibet, India, the Caribbean and Oceania who use shells for music and as a call to prayer.

Who are you usually compared to in reviews?
The obvious people - one reviewer called me "the most interesting explorer of Miles Davis' legacy". I think comparing people with others is dangerous - when you compare, you can get lazy and stop looking into the nature and individuality of the person.

Do you mind being labelled a jazz artist - or does your music go further than that?
I think any label is limiting. People would think I am a jazz musician because I improvise and I play the trumpet. However, most of the music I listen to these days is not what I would call jazz. My music is a combination of all the sounds, pictures and colours I live with.

What did you do before you were a musician?
I was always a musician! I went to Sussex University where I studied psychology, cognitive science and maths.

What has been your biggest break so far?
I think the biggest break is the one I took myself to set up Twilight Jaguar records. And when I was studying at Sussex, I was busking in Brighton and Tony Hall came up to me and asked me to do a session for Carl McIntosh and Loose Ends. That was my first session.

What has been your biggest mistake?
I do not look at things as mistakes - I see them as learning experiences. However sometimes I wish as a boy I had gone to the barber instead of letting my sisters cut my hair.

What are your three favourite albums of all time?
In a Silent Way by Miles Davis - a masterpiece. Music Of My Mind by Stevie Wonder - amazing, you can feel the love and humanity. And Earth Roots by Byron Wallen - so original, the best trumpet sound I have ever heard recorded.

Who would you have on the bill if you organised a music festival?
I would book traditional musicians from all over the world who remembered their cultural music - especially those from Africa and Indonesia. It is so sad that so many musical traditions have died out through so-called globalisation.

I would also book Thelonious Monk quartet, Kenny Dorham with his ensemble, and Stravinsky to conduct his Concerto Dumbarton Oaks in E flat.

What is your biggest musical ambition?
To explore, define and refine that which is I - and sell millions of albums with the music that comes out of that process.