Jonathan Crespo

Jonathan was born in Chile, South America right around the time of political uprising and violence. The eventual overthrowing of then President Allende by way of a coup, forced his family to leave the country and move to Canada. Growing up in a country with a different language, he had the advantage of being young enough to pick it up quickly. Raised and educated in Canada, Jonathan found his calling in music; “My brother started playing Trumpet in High School, one day I went into his bedroom while he was away and started playing it. I didn’t know what I was playing but I was definitely making noise! My brother eventually taught me my first scale”. Being born in a Latin American country, one would think that he is naturally a Latin Music Performer, the beat is certainly in his blood but it is not his “bag”! “I grew up listening to The Who, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and so on”, he goes onto say “I’m a rocker in a Trumpet Players Body”! Having heard him perform, one can hear his influences ranging from Rock to Jazz and Classical. “I started off as a classical player, one day I picked up a Chet Baker album and the next thing I knew I was off to Humber College in Toronto, a Jazz school”. In 2007 Jonathan was asked and honoured to be a member of the Humber College Music Program Advisory Committee along side many influential members of the music industry including legendary Jazz Pianist, the late Oscar Peterson. I asked him about the Trumpet being his first love and what genre of music is his favorite, he answered it in a way that I have not heard many musicians answer the question; “I don’t have a favorite type of music to play, I love it all. My personal philosophy is that I can’t call my self a true musician unless I’m open minded to all types of music. You don’t have to like it but there is always something you can learn from it, which is why everything I perform I play it as though it is my favorite. Not because I truly like the song, but because I love to play my horn. I wouldn’t describe my Trumpet as my first love; it is an extension of me. Yes, I do love it because I speak and say things through it that I may not be able to verbally. I let my true emotions; thoughts and feelings flow through my horn. And that to me helps the audience to relate and identify with the music, no matter what is being played. My Trumpet is more than a love, it is a part of who and what I am, it speaks the words I want to say that will grab the listener at the highest level of consciousness and deepest emotional level”.