Community Spotlight: Emmerson Sutton and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp
Join us for another #CommunitySpotlight highlighting the impact of the Louis Armstrong “Satchmo” Jazz Camp – and meet Emmerson Sutton (above via Zoom alongside his musical hero, Louis Armstrong) a student of the Camp learning the New Orleans way, all the way in London.
Spotlight by Tyree Worthy
For decades, the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp has been respected as the best summer music education program in New Orleans. Using all styles of jazz and jazz performance, they help students learn life fundamentals like leadership, confidence, and problem-solving. Internationally renowned musicians Jon Batiste, Christian Scott, and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews are a few of the camp’s illustrious alumni, and now, the legacy has stretched across the pond.
COVID-19 turned the Satchmo Jazz Camp virtual this year—a silver lining that made cultural exposure and top-tier instruction possible for young musicians outside of the Crescent City. Students across the country and the world got the opportunity to learn and experience traditional New Orleans music, spreading the heritage that has been fighting to stay alive since Hurricane Katrina and beyond.
One young leader from London is setting a great example for how exposure to music and cultural education can lead to real-world achievement and leadership.
“Louis Armstrong is arguably one of the best trumpeters of all time,” said Emmerson Sutton, a 13-year-old trumpeter from Lewisham. “He’s kind of an unsung hero… because he's not really spoken about.”
Emmerson, who has been playing for about five years, was able to learn traditional jazz first hand with the camp this summer. Despite the six-hour time difference, he attended the camp virtually with classes led by New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader Marlon Jordan and master classes with legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis—one featuring another acclaimed trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval from Cuba.
“The teaching was incredible,” Emmerson said. “What was fun working with [Marlon] was that he would tell you when you're doing something right, but he would also… critique you in terms of giving you more things to work on and things that make it just that bit better, which I think was really nice.”
Today, in the wake of COVID-19, the Preservation Hall Foundation is working to provide settings where students can learn by playing. With help from the foundation and other organizations, the Satchmo Jazz Camp was able to hold the livestream classes and give all students access to their full online music library. Both organizations value the lasting mentorship children can have with musicians, tradition bearers, and teaching artists from the New Orleans community. For everyone, investing in the future of the city means investing in the youth.
“Cultural preservation is educating and training children at a young age to learn music, and to have access to arts education,” said Jackie Harris, founder and executive director of Satchmo Jazz Summer Camp.
More than just learning and practicing music, students gained lessons in self-esteem and leadership. Jazz is the music of improvisation, Jackie explained. Young people are afforded the opportunity to interpret the music for themselves and share ideas with their peers.
“[Our students] get to learn jazz, and more than anything, they learn how to improvise. That provides confidence,” she said. “[When] you interpret that music in your own way, and everybody gets a look at you, they see who you are, what you think, and how you think about this music that you’re interpreting.”
Culture and music are community activities that, at best, include and inspire, as Emmerson understands. Taking inspiration from what some people do and gaining education or understanding from others, it gradually becomes something more.
His neighborhood of Lewisham will be celebrated as London’s Borough of Culture in 2022, a prestigious award that comes with a yearlong program of activities based around the culture, character, and diversity of London’s locals. He is on the mayor’s Young Advisor’s board and will help decide what they will plan for the year, how they will make the borough culturally diverse, and how they can expand as a borough.
After learning about the culture, styles, and traditions of jazz from the birthplace itself, he is determined to share the wealth. With opportunity and community support, his faith echoes Preservation Hall Foundation’s mantra to protect, preserve, and perpetuate. Emmerson declared, “In 2022, Lewisham will be celebrated as the London Borough of Culture, and I will ensure that the works of Louis Armstrong in New Orleans will be heard.”
Emmerson Sutton connecting with Tyree Worthy over Zoom from London.