Born: August 20, 1992 Primary Instrument: Trombone
Composer/Trombonist Andy Clausen, 19, gained significant national attention for his music while a high school student in Seattle, before moving to New York City to study at The Juilliard School in the Fall of 2010. Winning the 2009 Gerald Wilson Award for Jazz Composition from The Monterey Jazz Festival, Clausen’s compositions and his “Split Stream Big Band” have been hailed by the New York Times as “sleek, dynamic large-group jazz, a whirl of dark- hued harmony and billowing rhythm…The intelligent sheen of Mr. Clausen’s writing was as striking as the composure of his peers…It was impressive, and not just by the yardstick of their age.” A bandleader at the age of 14, Clausen was performing sets of entirely original compositions with The Andy Clausen Sextet at festivals and clubs throughout Seattle, in addition to working with professional jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, contemporary chamber music groups, and pop horn sections. Clausen’s compositions have been performed by trumpet luminary Wynton Marsalis and recorded by Cuong Vu. He has performed on stages throughout North America, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Clausen’s currently performs with The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, The Westerlies, Andy Clausen’s Split Stream Big Band, Andy’s Wishbone Ensemble, and The Clausen/Mulherkar Duo Project
Awards:
Clausen's big band composition "Fly" was honored with the 2009 Gerald Wilson Award for Jazz Composition from the Monterey Jazz Festival.“His skills belie his age.” – The Seattle Times
“Brilliant release...Clausen finds a way to fuse these disparate musicians and their seemingly ill-fitting instruments into an alluring, whimsical, and just- plain-cool mix of jazz, classical, and experimental music. Challenging music that doesn’t shy away from also being pretty.” - eMusic
“Improvisational brushstrokes through elements of classical composition, frenzied syncopation, flashes of pop structure, and buoyant, melodic themes. It's another great entry for Table and Chairs and a beautiful piece of music-- and a very apropos soundtrack to accompany any prolonged thinking of your long, lost youth.” -Seattle Weekly
