Alonzo Demetrius & THE EGO
MARKETING COPY
Alonzo Demetrius (born March 25th, 1996) is a critically acclaimed trumpeter, composer, vocalist, producer, and activist. He is the founder and bandleader of the band The Ego - a genre-fluid band that blends together elements of jazz, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, rock, fusion, world music, and much more. Demetrius’ versatility and adaptability are boundless, allowing him opportunities to work with major artists across genres.
His debut album, Live From the Prison Nation, was developed as his form of protest against, and education about, the Prison Industrial Complex. In April of 2020, Demetrius was signed to Onyx Productions by the late Ralph Peterson. In an interview, Peterson explained that he was impressed by Demetrius’ “social justice message as much as his musical message.” He added, “The fact that Alonzo’s music has today’s edge on it is exactly what I wanted for the label.”
Demetrius and the Live From the Prison Nation album have been featured in Downbeat Magazine, Financial Times, and Occhi Magazine, among others. In May of 2021, Demetrius recorded a compilation of two songs from the album for NPR @Home series.
Demetrius’ latest single release, ‘Rapture’, is the debut single from an upcoming R&B fusion album featuring him as a vocalist and trumpeter. Rapture was inspired by a wide variety of influences including Miguel, Paramore, Usher and Stereolab. Alonzo wanted to create a song that showcases his abilities as a songwriter, a producer, and an instrumentalist. Up until this point Alonzo has largely been known as a trumpet player exclusively, so he is taking this opportunity to show that he is a complete artist in his own right with a unique voice. His music is emotional, honest, introspective, and most of all, full of energy.
Demetrius attended Berklee College of Music after earning a full-tuition scholarship where he obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Professional Music with concentrations in Jazz Composition and Performance. Following his graduation from the undergraduate program in the spring of 2018, he accepted an invitation to the highly selective Berklee Global Jazz Institute Master's Program, graduating with a Master of Music in June 2019.
Following the release of Live from the Prison Nation, Demetrius worked as a sideman with several notable jazz artists including Terence Blanchard, Ralph Peterson Jr., Tia Fuller, Joe Farnsworth, Amina Figuerova, Julius Rodriguez, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Furthermore, he has worked with several major artists in other genres including Brasstracks, The Fugees, The War and Treaty, The Gospel According to Broadway, and many more.
You can keep up with Alonzo Demetrius by following him on social media and on all music streaming services.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Dave Cantor, Downbeat (USA)
"In addition to Live From The Prison Nation introducing its leader [Alonzo Demetrius] to a wider audience, the album also marks the first release from Onyx Productions—helmed by[the late] drummer and educator Ralph Peterson—that doesn’t feature its founder. That’s a significant vote of confidence, and the music here seems to bear out the trust Peterson’s invested in the young trumpeter."
Mike Hobart, Financial Times (USA)
"Impressively, voice-overs and music merge, speech patterns are translated into rhythmic motifs and a passing mood becomes a whole train of thought. But the meat of the album is upscale contemporary mainstream modern jazz with soulful modal themes, well-worked arrangements and a rhythmic blend of hip-hop and swing."
Vagarag, JazzBuzz (Greece)
"Overall, an impressive start for Demetrius who finds his way with a style somewhere between two of the most famous trumpeters of the new generation, Ambrose Akinmusire and Christian Scott."