Exceprt from a review written by By Paul Rauch at All About Jazz
September 11, 2023
Read the Review on All About Jazz.com

With the festival spotlight on Detroit artists, stop one for the day was a performance led by young Detroit trumpeter Trunino Lowe. As is common with young, talented artists, Lowe was full of energy and humility, with a stage presence that was honest, joyous and revealing of his professional inexperience. That inexperience however, stripped down the performance emotionally for the audience. Lowe, who recently relocated to New York was clearly overwhelmed with performing on this large a stage, at this festival, in his hometown. Lowe is a product of Detroit's public school music programs, and this was a coming home of sorts for him. At one point, his physical self housing a current almost too strong to be grounded, he remarked, "This is really happening." On the cusp of his first album release, Lowe channeled all of that energy into a hard driving set, leading his quartet into a collection of his original compositions. The trumpeter worked off two microphones, one allowing him to utilize electronics, the other for his straight, acoustic sound. Lowe played more of the latter, using electronics occasionally and tastefully. Surrounded by the tall buildings at Campus Martius, this set was emblematic of the entire festival in 2023. While the festival itself projected Detroit pride, Lowe himself played like it really meant something to him, something rooted in his personal pride in the city that calls him its own.

Lowe's set also spotlighted young, rising Detroit stars in bassist Jeremiah Edwards and drummer Louis Jones III. The duo was not only a rock solid rhythm team, but an innovative wave of energy that grounded and carried the music forward. They were what allowed Lowe to find his way into his central focus as a musician and leader. Pianist Sequoia Snyder, currently a student at Michigan State, was a story in herself, combining a strong left hand and beautifully melodic and articulate right. The Washington DC native and now Lansing resident gave us something special to consider moving forward—she is a notable talent that comps aside, possesses a McCoy-like inspired sound that dwells within her very original space.