Janelle Finton

Fascinated by many modes of creativity, Janelle Finton is a trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and poet who approaches music making and storytelling with wonder.Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Janelle has a diverse musical background in the traditions of classical, jazz, contemporary, theater, and sacred music. Elements of all these styles blend together in her performing and writing to create her unique sound of a warm and clear tone on the trumpet, lush orchestration in her arranging, technical virtuosity and conversational intimacy in her voice, vulnerability in her lyrics, and intentionality in her melodies, within both her compositions and improvisation.She has played with groups such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra as a featured vocalist at Ravinia and the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, the Grace Fox Big Band at Birdland, and Dizzy’s Club in NY, the John Daversa Big Band at the Baked Potato in LA and the Jazz Education Network Conference, and the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra. In spring 2024 she debuted her own group, joygarden, that combines elements of folk, jazz, and chamber music.Janelle has been nationally recognized as a musician, being selected for groups such as the JAS Aspen Academy Big Band directed by Christian McBride, and NYO Jazz, where she performed at Carnegie Hall and toured Europe and Asia with Sean Jones, Dianne Reeves, and Kurt Elling. As a composer, Janelle has been recognized by Downbeat, the American Composer’s Forum, and has charts published through Brava Jazz, and Anchor Music.Finton holds a B.M. from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in jazz trumpet performance, where she studied with the amazing Brian Lynch, as well as Etienne Charles (trumpet), Dafnis Prieto (improvisation), and Dr. Kate Reid (voice). She also worked with artists such as John Daversa, Maria Schneider, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Luciana Souza, Jihye Lee, and Regina Carter, where she orchestrated and arranged John Daversa’s arrangement of “Dancing in the Street” for Regina and the Frost Jazz Orchestra.In 2021 she played lead trumpet in the world premiere of Chucho Valdes’ “La Creación”, at the Arsht Center. As a member of Jazz Vocal Ensembles, she won two Downbeat awards. In 2023 she was chosen to represent Frost in the International Association of Schools of Jazz conference where she spent a week performing original music in Helsinki, Finland. Janelle is grateful to have been immersed in the diverse music cultures of Miami, working with amazing teachers who supported her desire to study multiple mediums of music. This allows her to meet people with whatever best serves them and the moment. Janelle is a lifelong learner, and as an educator, invites her students into the practice of creativity, through curiosity. She served as the jazz trumpet and voice instructor for the 2024 Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and currently teaches private lessons in the Chicago area, and at Conant, and Palatine High Schools. Janelle is continuously grateful for all the opportunities she has to share joy with people through her music!