the music of Knox Summerour

Rest In Peace, Clare Fischer

2012-01-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

Clare Fischer, whose Big Band I performed with in Los Angeles 11 days ago, passed away last night at age 83. I only discovered Clare's music after being called to sub in his big band shortly after moving to Los Angeles, and wow, what a stroke of luck for me. He was an orchestral composer writing for big band, that's the best way to describe the sound he gets from 17 instruments. It was and is big band/jazz chamber music, with each chair in the band acting as soloist at one point or another during any given tune - - a rare feat in big band arranging. I'd never heard anything like his harmonic sense and still haven't ever had more fun playing in a big band. Playing with the great musicians in Clare's band and just listening and absorbing his music during rehearsals and performances has had a big influence on the continued development of my jazz improvisation. It was the first truly great band I had a chance to perform with in L.A., and I will always cherish Clare's music and influence. Rest in peace, Clare Fischer.

BBC Obituary

catch Knox with Grammy-winner Clare Fischer's Big Band 1/16/12

2012-01-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

"I'm lucky to be performing with some great L.A. studio and jazz musicians this coming Monday at Vitello's in Studio City, CA as we play originals and arrangements from one of the most celebrated jazz composers of our time, Clare Fischer. The show starts at 8pm and ticket information is available here.

In addition to winning 2 Grammys for his own albums and composing two tunes now considered jazz standards, "Morning" and "Pensativa," Clare has also written for Dizzy Gillespie, Prince, George Shearing, Natalie Cole, Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Spike Lee, João Gilberto, Paula Abdul, and most recently Brian McKnight, Branford Marsalis, Tori Amos, Vanessa Williams, Brandy, and many others.

Clare's son Brent leads the band now and we'll play a few of his arrangements as well, including his breathtaking interpretation of "Pictures at an Exhibition." The band includes some incredible talent such as Carl Saunders, Scott Whitfield, Don Shelton, Gary Foster, Bob Sheppard, Ron Stout, and many others. Hope to see you there!"

- Knox

New Demo: SHIJI HAIWAN

2012-01-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

Trumpet, Guitar, and Composed by Knox Summerour

new video: Knox' "St. Patrick's Day" cover

2011-12-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

vocals, trumpets, & guitar by Knox Summerour

arranged & produced by Knox Summerour

music & lyrics by John Mayer

* For booking info, please submit a contact form.
* click here for Press Kit

Thanksgiving Day: December 18, 1777

2011-11-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

Hamilton is not carving the turkey

The custom of a feast day dedicated to giving thanks to God has been an informal American tradition since the 1600's, and it has been celebrated the last Thursday of each November since Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it so in 1863. But the first official Thanksgiving Day Proclamation came November 1, 1777 by the Continental Congress, just 16 months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Britain:

IN CONGRESS
November 1, 1777
FORASMUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost."
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

see Knox streaming on Netflix!

2011-11-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

Attention Netflixxers: The 2011 Beijing remake of "What Women Want" -- featuring Knox playing and singing two of his original songs -- is now available streaming on Netflix with English subtitles. Dig!

Knox featured alongside Sandoval, Vizzutti, German Brass on new brass CD

2011-11-10T17:41:00.000-08:00

The L.A. studio recording of Knox' composition "Elegy for Fred" is available for purchase, along with music from world-class artists including the German Brass, Canadian Brass, Arturo Sandoval, Allen Vizzutti, Joe Alessi, Malcolm McNab, and many others, on a new compilation album entitled "To Fred With Love: The world's finest Brass players pay tribute to Fred Mills" on the Apple Jazz label. The dual CD may be purchased here at Amazon and will soon be available for digital purchase on iTunes. 100% proceeds from the album benefit the Fred Mills Memorial Scholarship Fund.

"'Elegy For Fred' was written in memory of my teacher and friend Fred Mills, one of the most celebrated trumpet players of the 20th century, for 23 years a member of the Canadian Brass, and the most influential teacher I ever had. He passed away in a tragic car accident in 2009, and I felt honored to be asked to compose a piece to be performed at his memorial a few days later. 'Elegy' was originally written for 14 brass players, and in May 2010 I was humbled to be asked to re-arrange it for this tribute album. It features myself and 'Obama's Own' trumpeter Brian Turnmire, with the wonderful veteran Hollywood studio pianist Mike Lang accompanying. This album is a tour-de-force of brass playing and should be purchased by every brass player out there and all who love world-class brass music!" - Knox

"Elegy for Fred" at Fred Mills' memorial in 2009

SAM SIMS (Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake) records Bass for Knox' Album

2011-10-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Bassist SAM SIMS, who just last night performed at the "Michael Forever" Michael Jackson tribute concert and has played with Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, and Lionel Richie among others, recently took time out of his schedule to go into the studio and record electric bass for 4 songs on my upcoming album. I can't wait for it all to be mixed so everyone can hear him - Sam is the man!

- Knox

Sam Sims with Janet Jackson in '98

"Adagio in g minor" - new demo preview

2011-10-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Albinoni Adagio - demo preview

Just posted: a new album preview - Knox' arrangement of Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio in g minor"

Click here to purchase more music from Knox.

Knox partners with Wow Creative's "iBase" in Taipei

2011-08-31T02:55:00.000-07:00

iBase is like Whack-a-mole, just without the moles

Knox recently partnered with Wow Creative, Inc. of Taiwan to help promote their new product iBase at this year's Taipei Comic Exhibition in Taipei City, Taiwan, which drew a record 550,000 visitors from August 11-16.

Knox' music was featured on the iBase, which is an interactive music player that also functions as a 3-tiered platform on which user-chosen figurines can be placed to interact with one another in song, story-telling, dialog, or any combination thereof. For more on the iBase click here. To hear & purchase Knox' music that was featured at the convention, click here.

Knox' EMMY® win!

2011-08-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

Knox co-composed the music for the documentary The Legend of Pancho Barnes, which has just won a 2011 Los Angeles Emmy® for best film in the Arts & Culture category. In addition to co-composing the score with Nathan Wang, Knox also performs on Trumpet in the film. The film is narrated by Tom Skerritt, and Kathy Bates is the voice of Pancho Barnes; it also features interviews with Buzz Aldrin and Chuck Yeager, among others. The film is currently circulating on most PBS stations around the U.S. -- check your local listings for showtimes.

The L.A. Emmy Awards are the only regional Emmys presented directly by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS). For more info on the L.A. Emmys, click here.

re-hearing "Blue Moon"

2011-06-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm convinced now that most of what we consider our "strong opinions" of a song or a piece of music are actually notions that were, quite unfortunately, shaped more by the first version (AKA "arrangement") of the song (and surrounding environment thereof -- more on this in later posts) than by the value of the original work. This morning I caught myself grimacing in pain when I heard Clifford Brown's "with Strings" January 1955 version of "Blue Moon," which I thought rather odd of myself to do since Clifford Brown is my #1 all time favorite jazz trumpeter and the arrangements on that album were written by well-documented genius Arranger/ TV+Film composer Neal Hefti. Listening along for the first few seconds, I just couldn't shake from my head what was, in my mind, the "original" doo-wop recording of this song -- the one I heard first, and most, in my post-1980 MTV-generation life. Of course I'm speaking of the bom ba ba bom a dang a dang dang 1961 Blue Moon recording by The Marcels, which runs just over two minutes and sold over 2.5 million copies. However, since I've made the mistake before of double-clicking right past this Clifford Brown track, this morning I decided to try something -- to listen to Clifford's beautiful phrasing of this 1933 Rodgers-Hart classic until I'd purged my mind of the boms and dangs of my parents' generation. And thought it was hard to get those Marcel notions out of my head, listening to the intricate Neal Hefti reharmonization and sweet sound of Clifford Brown seemed to do the trick. I've also been helped along by learning the actual history of the song, including the fact that, as is usually the case with old standards, what we think of as the "beginning" of the song is actually the beginning of the Chorus of the song, originally preceded by one or more verses. Our general concept of songs for radio and albums (AABA or VVCVCBC) is somewhat of a modern one, and keeping all of these things in mind, as well as focusing on the beauty of the Brown/Hefti January 18, 1955 recording -- all of it has helped me to give a just re-hearing to the song now known as Blue Moon.

- Knox

to hear previews of Knox' upcoming album, click here.

to purchase the single, click here.

My new toy -- a Pocket Trumpet

2011-05-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've been needing a horn to keep in the car full-time so I can practice on the road or if I get stuck someplace for several hours (in L.A. traffic this is always a possibility), and one that, if stolen or awayed with via grand-theft-auto, I wouldn't cry much over. The solution: a pocket trumpet! I must say the green was not my first choice, just what was available. But for the money, I can't believe the quality of the horn! The valves work great, it's got a good sound, and the intonation isn't half bad. Though I won't be using it in the studio or on gigs, it'll be great as an emergency horn and for keeping in shape on the road. The brand is "Barcelona," though I'm quite certain it wasn't manufactured anywhere near Spain...

- Knox

to hear previews of Knox' upcoming album, click here.

to purchase the single, click here.

Album Update: Andrew Doolittle recording guitar for Knox' debut solo album

2011-04-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Knox and studio rock-jazz-pop guitarist Andrew Doolittle will be going into the studio soon to lay down his smooth guitar stylings for Knox' debut solo album. Andrew has recorded and performed with Bird York, A-Mei (Taiwan), american idol's Carmen Rasmusen, and many others. He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tony Danza Show, in addition to recording extensively for film and television. Andrew is on faculty at the Musicians Institute (MI) in Los Angeles, CA.

Check www.knoxsummerour.com for continuous updates. Click here to listen to previews of Knox's album

in the studio with Jef Van Veen

2011-03-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we recorded drums for Knox' new album at C4 Music in Los Angeles. Watch Grammy-winning studio drummer Jef Van Veen go behind the glass to add his stylings to Knox' song "Pasadena Night."

Album update: OutKast drummer Jef Van Veen to record next week!

2011-03-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Knox' upcoming Album will get a jolt of energy next week when Grammy-winning drummer Jef Van Veen comes to Los Angeles to add his virtuosic drum stylings to Knox' songs. Originally from the Netherlands, Jef has worked extensively with Andre Benjamin of OutKast, drumming on 2003's Grammy-winning "Speakerboxx / The Love Below" & Andre 3000's Cartoon Network show, "Class of 3000." Jef has also recorded with former Miles Davis guitarist Mike Stern, bassist Adam Nitti, and many others. We're excited to have Jef on board for Knox' debut album!

To listen to previews of Knox' upcoming album, go to knoxsummerour.com/listen.

Jef Van Veen with Andre 3000 & band. Jef's the white guy.

article on Knox in CHINESE DAILY NEWS (World Journal)

2011-02-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

If you read Mandarin, you can read this article about Knox in the Chinese Daily News, a Chinese-language newspaper published daily in 18 major cities across the U.S. & Canada. Follow this link to the February 4, 2011 edition, section B page 6, or simply see the article below Thanks to talented columnist Maggie Ma for writing this! English translation to follow.

Knox' single "TODAY" in Store and on iTunes ... Today!

2011-02-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Knox's single "TODAY" (as heard in the 2011 Polybona/Paramount remake of the film "What Women Want") releases today! Visit Knox's store here to "name your price" or go to iTunes to purchase the single now!

Knox appears on Haroula Rose's new album

2011-01-26T00:21:00.000-08:00

Knox plays trumpet (well, several trumpets -- ok, so it's technically the same trumpet layered four times over, so what) on Folk/Indie singer-songwriter Haroula Rose's great new album, "These Open Roads"! Knox appears on the track "Another Breakup Ballad, whiich you can buy here on iTunes along with the rest of the album.

Haroula's music has appeared on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and this is her first full length album release. She's playing in Los Angeles at the storied Hotel Cafe on February 1st. Check out her lovely lovely vocals and songwriting!

knox plays trumpet on this

Knox featured in Chinese remake of "What Women Want" (我知女人心)

2010-12-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Knox co-wrote, sings, and plays two original songs featured in the Polybona Films Beijing remake of What Women Want (我知女人心) which is set for release in Asia on February 3, 2011! The film stars superstar Andy Lau (劉德華) in the Mel Gibson role, and legendary Chinese actress Gong Li (巩俐) playing the role Helen Hunt graced in the Hollywood original. Knox's two songs, "Today" and "Diggin' Your Scene," hearken back to Gershwin and Cole Porter-like jazz standards of the golden age of broadway and Hollywood, capturing the innocence and hope of new romance.

One of the songs is heard as the male lead, Andy Lau, is in his apartment getting ready for a blind date. The second song plays over a montage of the female lead, Gong Li, trying on dresses in the boutiques of Beijing in preparation for an important romantic meeting.

Knox also produced the two songs, which he co-wrote with Chinese-Australian composer Christopher O'Young, who also composed the score for the film. The songs were recorded at the Firehouse in Pasadena, CA on December 16, 2010 and feature some of the best session players in Los Angeles including Mike Lang on piano (Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald), Edwin Livingston on bass (Natalie Cole, Queen Latifah), and Bryan Taylor on drums (Gwen Stefani, Abe Laboriel).

Yes, the songs are sung in English! -- and the film actually has quite a bit of spoken English in it, as well as Mandarin of course.

Check back here after the film is released to hear the songs. Meanwhile, enjoy the film's trailer here!