Jimmy Sommers

On his first album, James Cafe, smooth jazz saxman Jimmy Sommers was able to score a Top 20 NAC (New Adult Contemporary) single with the title track. The Mt. Prospect, IL, native first picked the alto saxophone in the fourth grade when on "instrument day" he chose the sax, even though he didn't know what it was. His first recording was as a featured soloist with the MacArthur Junior High School jazz band. As a teen, he would use fake IDs to sneak into nearby Chicago nightclubs such as Kingston Mines to jam with blues musicians. Attending on a music performance scholarship at Southern Illinois University, Sommers began leading his own band. He was invited to play the "Star Spangled Banner" at center court for a Chicago Bulls game. During Atlanta's 1996 Olympic summer games, Sommers performed for the athletes in the Olympic Village. Sommers completed his industrial engineering degree at Southern Illinois University a semester early so he could get to Los Angeles and pursue his dream that much faster. In L.A., he played on remix sessions for the likes of Chaka Khan, George Clinton, Boyz II Men, 2Pac, DJ Quik, Wyclef Jean, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. To make ends meet, Sommers started moonlighting in modeling, appearing on the cover of a Harlequin romance novel and landing a small role on the CBS network soap opera The Young and the Restless playing the character Marcus. A brief return to Chicago found Sommers at the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency producing commercials for big-name clients like Disney and Miller Lite. Being responsible for the visuals and the music for those spots, as well as getting things in on deadline and on budget, inspired Sommers to apply the same discipline to his music. His music remained a priority, culminating in him flying to the South of...