Summer Camargo - To Whom I Love (2024) [Hi-Res]

Blue Engine Records—Jazz at Lincoln Center’s in-house record label—is proud to present the debut album from rising star Summer Camargo. Entitled To Whom I Love, the full album is out digitally March 15; the first single “JP Shuffle” is out today. CD and vinyl release date to be announced at a later date.

To celebrate her forthcoming debut album, for the first time, Summer will perform To Whom I Love in its entirety at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club on Feb. 20, at 7 and 9 p.m. ET. Her band features Jeffery Miller (trombone), Veronica Leahy (alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute), Joe Block (piano), Raul Reyes Bueno (bass), and Varun Das (drums). To purchase tickets, visit jazz.org/dizzys. To livestream the concert, or watch on-demand visit Jazzlive.com.

Camargo is a 22 year-old phenomenon. The Florida native is a Jerome Green Fellowship recipient at the Juilliard School, where she’s presently completing her Masters Degree in Jazz Studies (trumpet). Camargo is an alumna of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival (2017, 2018, and 2019), where she garnered high praise and awards including: Outstanding Trumpet Soloist Awards, the Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist Award and the Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition Contest. Camargo has a multi-faceted background in jazz and classical music, and currently holds the title of the youngest member of the Saturday Night Live (SNL) House Band.

Each song on To Whom I Love serves as a letter to an important figure in Camargo’s life. Some tunes are straight-ahead, some are soul-tinged, and others lean into her Latin roots. Each song acts as an individual gift, but as a collection, the album tells a story that’s a compulsively listenable document of Camargo’s evolution as an artist.

Produced by award-winning trumpeter Sean Jones, To Whom I Love features Summer Camargo(Trumpet), Veronica Leahy (Reeds), Jeffery Miller (Trombone), Esteban Castro (Piano), Raul Reyes Bueno (Bass), Varun Das (Drums), and Jamey Haddad (Percussion – tracks 2, 4, 6, & 9).

The album also features special guest and B3 Hammond titan Joey DeFrancesco (Organ – tracks 3 & 9), who passed away one week after the recording sessions for the album.

“I would like to pay a special tribute to Joey DeFrancesco,” Camargo says. “The short time we spent together was unforgettable. I will always remember his soulful sounds on the organ that brought magic to the tunes on my first album, never thinking that it would be his last… I was so touched that a legend like Joey would spend this amount of time, energy, and care on a young artist’s first recording.”

One of the tracks DeFrancesco performed on was intended as a tribute to Camargo’s grandparents. “I was humbled and honored to have the great, late Joey DeFrancesco play the organ on ‘80 Tears of Joy,’ making it the perfect tribute to my grandparents,” she says.

Similarly, other songs on the record serve as celebrations of other family members. “In June of 2018, a few nights before my mom’s birthday, I was frantically looking for a present I could give her,” Camargo says. “Being so last-minute and not feeling like any traditional present would work, I decided to write her a tune. I sat on the floor of our laundry room, sang a melody, and wrote it down. I managed to complete it and played it for her at the birthday party. It became an instant hit with my family, thus starting the tradition of writing tunes as birthday presents for my family. My dad, sisters, and grandparents exclaimed, ‘I want you to write one for my birthday, too!’ Later that year, I wrote ‘80 Tears of Joy’ for my grandma and ‘JP Shuffle’ for my dad.”