(February 27, 2024) Lin Rountree combines his natural feeling for and love of R&B music with his creativity as a trumpeter who speaks the language of jazz with fluency. Rountree honed those skills from an early age, developing them at Washington, D.C.’s Duke Ellington School for Performing Arts and then getting a chance to showcase them by earning a spot on the highly competitive and world renown Marching 100 at Florida A&M university.
Since then, Rountree has gone on to release eight albums, earning the name Soul-Trumpeter. Rountree collaborated with a host of artists from the jazz and R&B world, including Kem, Conya Doss and George Duke.
Rountree’s latest album The Message, finds the trumpeter improvising and creating on tracks that range from up-tempo and funky to smooth and laid back. Most of them are instrumental tunes, but this First Listen features Rountree paired with vocalist and two time SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Award winner Algebra Blessett on an inspirational cut titled “One You.”
“One You” finds Algebra giving words to the desire for people to embrace their uniqueness in a world where people are often under pressure to conform. Or as the Soul Trumpeter himself put it: (“One You”) encourages listeners to ignore negativity presented by others and prioritize what truly matters. Ultimately, the song emphasizes the uniqueness and importance of each individual…and reminds us that we’re one of one!!
Check out “One You” by Lin Rountree and Algebra Blessett here.
By Howard Dukes
Lin Rountree feat. Algebra Blessett
“Only You”
