Allentown Musician Mixes Classical Jazz with New Age Rap

K.C. Lopez

• Published on September 10, 2019 • Last modified on September 11, 2019 • Comments

NAZARETH, PA - He’s a Lehigh Valley trumpeter and rapper. He knows more about classic jazz than some of those who lived through it. And he’s only 21.

“Playing the music isn’t hard but feeling it is,” says Quin Jaye, “Without jazz music, none of the music we listen to today would be how it is because I feel like jazz music, the elements of it are sprinkled into everything nowadays.”

Born in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, Quin Jaye began playing trumpet in the third grade.
He later went on to attend the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts where half his days were spent strictly on developing his musical craft.

“I said this is it, we can audition,” says Quin’s mother, Alqueen White, “And I remember taking him for the audition and being so nervous like well, okay just if he doesn’t get it, let him know Dieruff has a really good band, it’s a good school and his sister went there.” She explains, “Growing up, he had the influence of music all the time. We listened to music, gospel music, we listened to jazz music, R&B, there was always something, the radio was always going in the house.”

“They taught you the material,” Quin explains, “and then once you were an upperclassman, that’s when you were put to the test to feel it, to improvise over it, to make it your own.”

And make it his own, he did. The Allentown artist is coming off the heels of The Showcase Tour; a music competition that includes talent from over 50 cities across the U.S. and Canada. Quin Jaye and his crew placed second in this national contest, but he says it’s what he sees, hears and feels on an everyday basis back home in East Allentown that has shaped his sound.

“The violence in the area this past summer has been terrible. There’s been so many shootings, so many deaths, robbings, it’s just the area, it had those elements but this summer it definitely it was taken to a new level,” he says, “And in my music, I don’t necessarily preach about that stuff. If I’m saying anything about it, I’m saying we shouldn’t be doing stuff like that. I understand how you may feel like you need to do what you gotta do but there’s other ways to get what you gotta get without taking it from someone else, without hurting someone else, without trying to be something you’re not.”

The young musician released an album; ‘The Shape of Rap to Come” this past spring. To some jazz purists, that title might ring a bell or two; it’s inspired by Ornette Coleman’s 1959 album titled, “The Shape of Jazz to Come.” Quin Jaye’s album however, gained local music critics’ praise; with one calling it a “creative” and “dynamic” project; blending classic hip hop and jazz with a new age twist and fresh sound.

“From there it was like, alright let's just keep rolling with it and see what sticks. It’s been a journey ever since,” Jake Deblasio tells PBS39 Reporter, K.C. Lopez, “We’ve recorded probably about 60 tracks so far and have tons of stuff in the can and tons of stuff that’s not out and tons of stuff that’s waiting to be heard. Just seeing what fits and what molds into something that’s creative and new. Just building a scene that’s going to be--have some longevity in a town that hasn’t really had a music scene in 30 plus years, since Billy Joel was here so I think having a new kind of vibe is good and it keeps people out of trouble and it keeps kids doing something that’s productive in their life.”

Quin Jaye worked closely with Charter Arts classmate, Jake Deblasio, on the 8 track album carefully mixed old school smooth jazz with contemporary rap lyrics and hip hop beats; featuring the young artist’s trumpet and vocal skills at the forefront. At times Quin Jaye’s project is serious and pounding, while maintaining light and fun at every turn.

It’s this versatility that the fresh artist says, will keep jazz alive through it’s modern ancestry.

“As you get into it, it starts unfolding a little bit more and as much as its foreshadowing the shape of rap to come,” Quin says, “Mixing my trumpet with rapping and mixing hip hop with jazz, and bringing it to a whole ‘nother level, it’s also staying true to the roots.”

You can listen to Quin Jaye and “The Shape of Rap to Come” on soundcloud, youtube, spotify and most streaming platforms by following his handle; @QuinJaye. But if an EP isn’t enough for you, you can catch him live this Saturday at Sultana Hookah Lounge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.