I spotted Samuel Edoho-Eket during the UNC Summer Jazz Workshop’s nightly advanced jam session this past Tuesday night. In addition to being an adept player, he seemed like an incredibly friendly individual. I was proven correct and granted the opportunity to interview him the next day.
I expected an interesting interview, knowing that Edoho-Eket experimented with a variety of instruments. What I did not expect, however, was to hear about his special connection to professional jazz musicians Rahsaan and Roland Barber.
I found Edoho-Eket during lunchtime following one of the workshop’s improv lessons. His bass recorder was still in-hand, a surprising sight as it added yet another instrument to my mental list of what he could play. While his workshop name-tag would tell you that Edoho-Eket is a trombonist, you can find him playing alto saxophone and trumpet during the week’s jam sessions.
I make my surprise at the sight of the new instrument known, and Edoho-Eket explains that recorder was his first instrument, having been introduced to it through his elementary school. He pulls out yet another recorder, this time pocket-sized, and laughs at how his fingers are too big for the holes. Regardless, he is able to play a sweet tune on it and I feel compelled to ask how many instruments he can play.
“Play well?” He jokes before explaining that he has experience with trombone “off and on” for 33 years, recorder since age nine for a total of 34 years, alto saxophone for a year and a half, and trumpet for six months.
With so many instruments under his belt, I wonder what Edoho-Eket does for a living. He explains that math and science were always his strong suits, leading him towards a career in IT. While music is extremely important to him, it remains more of a hobby than a profession. He tells me that entrepreneurship was always an interest of his, a goal he decided to pursue following the death of his grandmother. “She was a pillar of the family,” he says. “Her death made me realize that life is short.”
As surprised as I was by the bass recorder, I was even more so upon learning that Edoho-Eket grew up with renowned musicians and UNC SJW concert performers Rahsaan and Roland Barber. They met in their shared hometown of Nashville Tennessee, even attending secondary school together. “Rahsaan was the first person I saw when I walked in,” Edoho-Eket recounts. Little did he know that meeting would lead to many future visits to the Barbers’ house.
The Barber twins were “all in, 100%, every day.” Edoho-Eket says. Musical instruments were always present at the Barber household, where he would spend much of his time hanging out and discussing music. “Pretty much everything I know I credit [to] them,” he adds.
It was Roland’s trombone instructor, Tom Lundberg, who taught Edoho-Eket to play without puffed cheeks. His lessons were invaluable to Edoho-Eket, who to this day wishes he hadn’t “wasted” his first five years on the instrument without instruction.
This is Edoho-Eket’s second year at UNC’s Summer Jazz Workshop. He says that he has a great time reconnecting with the Barbers and is deeply appreciative of his mother — who flew in for the week — and wife taking care of their children while he is here.
Edoho-Eket’s favorite part of the workshop is getting to play with the other musicians. He especially enjoyed the opportunity to receive one-on-one instruction from professional trumpeter Al Strong, who gave a fantastic performance on campus this past Monday night.
Edoho-Eket describes the experience of playing next to Strong in jam sessions as “incredible” and “the pinnacle of [his] quote unquote ‘musical career.’” He worked crazy hours last week at his IT job to be able to attend the workshop, which he considers a vacation.
“It’s an unbelievable experience,” he tells me with a smile.