Jauron Perry: S.O.U.L. - Student of the Universal Language

Jauron Perry, is a rising Detroit-Native Jazz Trumpeter, Composer, Bandleader, and undergraduate studying jazz performance at Michigan State University’s College of Music. Selected as the Next Generation of Talent award recipient, Jauron has quickly gained much experience performing and working with Detroit jazz masters such as Rodney Whitaker, Dwight Adams, James Carter, Vincent Chandler, Kris Johnson, Sean Dobbins, Wendell Harrison, Marion Hayden, and Regina Carter, to name a few. Other sensations outside of his hometown include Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis, Marquis Hill, Jazzmeia Horn, Diego Rivera, Marcus Printup, Walter Blanding, Jerome Jennings, Tim Warfield, Helen Sung, and Jeff Hamilton. Jauron has also been featured in popular events such as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Michigan Jazz Festival, African World Festival, East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, and as of recent, the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center where he performed with MSU’s Jazz Orchestra 1 placing in the top 3 of the collegiate ensembles in 2023. Also, he is the winner of the 1st Michigan Jazz Festival Rising Horn Competition in 2024. From his experience has come his reputation for being vastly knowledgeable, passionate, and mature about his craft for his age. He has been said, according to Kris Johnson, to be a “natural leader who searches for new ways to make personal connections with the music”. Having graduated from the acclaimed Detroit School of Arts High School, known for producing popular artists such as Aaliyah, and the vibrant bassist Endea Owens, a strong foundation and seriousness was established for Jauron early on through effective exposure and world-class mentorship. In addition to his performance endeavors, Jauron also conducts outreach as a youth mentor and advocates for young people across Michigan matriculating into the arts and entertainment industry. He is always constructing his own original compositions and aspires to lead bands of varying styles and sizes from small group to big band and straight ahead jazz to funk and fusion. Looking to perform around the globe, Jauron desires to spread a message of unity, diversity, and awareness through his music. To do this, he believes in honoring the tradition by using elements of the bebop/hard bop eras, pay tribute to the legends and his mentors, and include relevant themes of today's world in his approach to the music. Within his mission, Jauron will forever honor his grandfather, Gordon Perry, in everything he does because his grandfather is at the root of how it all began. Gordon Perry is one of Jauron’s greatest inspirations. He dedicates his artistic identity to him and vows to finish what his grandfather started.