Shaun Martin's players: Seven Summers Musicians

Robert Glasper & Bobby Sparks. (Photo: Jeremy Tudor Price)

Shaun Martin recently completed a tour of southern U.S. cities in support of his album Seven Summers (Ropeadope, 2015). We continue with our look at some of the players on the album.

Bobby Sparks

Bobby Sparks grew up in Corsicana about 50 miles south of Dallas. He began playing piano at the age of three. He moved to the Dallas area where he met Kirk Franklin. The two worked together for many years with Sparks playing as well as serving as musical director. He is on numerous movie and TV soundtracks; worked with many of the greats like Prince and Herbie Hancock; and even played at the White House.

Bobby Sparks plays organ on the song One Big Party on the Seven Summers album.

Jamil Byrom

Jamil Byrom, a graduate of Alcorn State University, won the prestigious Guitar Center Drum-off. He has played with Roy Hargrove, Kirk Franklin and Erykah Badu.

He was inspired by drummers like Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Calaiuta and Steve Jordan.

Around town in Dallas, he heads his own band called the Grown Folks and he also plays with Andrew Junior Boy Jones Blues Band.

On Seven Summers, Jamil Byrom plays drums on One Big Party, Have Your Chance at Love, Long Gone, and The Torrent.

Nate Werth

A native of Dyer, Indiana, Nate Worth started playing drums at the age of seven. He studied orchestral percussions at the University of North Texas where he worked under instructors like Poovalur Sriji, Jose Aponte, Gideon Alorwoyie, Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane and Mark Ford.

 

He plays percussions for Snarky Puppy. Nate Werth and Snarky Puppy bandmate, Robert ‘Sput’ Searight recently formed a new band Ghost-Note and put out an album Fortified (RSVP Records, 2015).

Nate Werth plays percussions on Seven Summers' Long Gone.

 

Quamon Fowler

Quamon Fowler, from Fort Worth, attended Weatherford College under the guidance of Tom Burchill. He transferred to Southern University in Louisiana to work with jazz clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Batiste encouraged him to put out his first CD called Introducing Quamon Fowler.

He went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Music Performance at Texas Tech. He plays the tenor sax and the EWI. He has won the Herb Albert Young Composer Award twice. Some of his favorite players are Sonny Rollins, Johnny Griffith, Cannonball Adderley and Branford Marsalis.

Quamon Fowler plays tenor sax on Seven Summers' One Big Party.