JazzED-ucation in Action: Sam Boshnack

As one of Seattle JazzED’s seasoned educators of four years, Samantha Boshnack, Seattle-based trumpet player, composer, and bandleader can be found each week leading JazzED’s brightest beginners in Foundations trumpet sectionals.

Boshnack first started playing trumpet at age ten in her public-school band program. She became hooked on music, and jazz, pretty quickly. and the tunes of Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, and Hugh Masekela were some of her early inspirations.  “I like the sound and I love the feeling of making the sound. There's just something kind of cathartic and visceral and sort of soothing to blowing a trumpet that I can't really explain.”

Composing has been an important part of her life ever since she was introduced to it in college. “I feel like that's a big part of me that I have to tend to; I need to play it, but I also really need to write.” She has released five albums of original music and has been commissioned by organizations including 4Culture and the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.

Many of her compositions start from improvisation. Compared to playing a solo on the trumpet, the exciting thing about composing is that it offers a space to expand on an idea and reveal the full artistic vision. “You get that extra opportunity to really choose the good stuff and then flesh it out big, add lots of lines, and just take it to a whole other level.” For example, her most recent work, an orchestral jazz song cycle titled “Uncomfortable Subjects”, is written for a twelve-member jazz chamber group including strings, winds, and voice.

Whether she’s composing or playing, the opportunity for group creativity is one of her favorite aspects of jazz. Jazz musicians have the freedom to communicate and create with other instruments and make music that encompasses everyone. “Every person on their instrument has a different voice and a different sound and if you can create a sum of all those voices…that's something really special that jazz does.” 

Like many musicians, Boshnack’s performance schedule was interrupted by COVID. Prior to the pandemic she regularly performed with the Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble led by Wayne Horvitz. She also leads several ensembles, including an alternative chamber orchestra that combines improvisation and orchestral music called B’shnorkestra.

These days Boshnack has primarily been composing and teaching. She hasn’t been performing much due to a shoulder injury, but now that she’s recovered she’s “excited to get back to performing.” To learn about what she’s up to these days, you can check out her website.