Trumpeter Alex Nguyen is a native of Savannah, Georgia. His lifelong fascination with music dates back to his early childhood, when his Godmother, a church organist, began giving him piano lessons. The pursuit continued when Alex took up the trumpet and then discovered jazz in high school. Now at the age of 21, Nguyen resides in Jacksonville, Florida where he is pursuing a degree at the University of North Florida jazz studies program, led by legendary jazz master Bunky Green.
Most recently, Nguyen was the winner of International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the second place winner of the National Trumpet Competition. He has also been among a handful of promising musicians invited to participate in residencies with Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead in Washington, D.C. and the Steans Institute for Young Artists in Chicago. These prestigious programs offered Alex the chance to study with a veritable “who's who” of seminal jazz artists and educators, such as James Moody, Curtis Fuller, Dr. David Baker, Rufus Reid, Nathan Davis, and Kenny Barron.
Alex performs regularly with his own groups and makes appearances with formidable voices on the jazz scene. At UNF, Nguyen currently holds the jazz trumpet chair in the award-winning Jazz Ensemble I. With the JEI, he has shared the stage with artists such as Slide Hampton, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Garrett, Claudio Roditi, Benny Green, Russell Malone and Poncho Sanchez.
Alex has performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Savannah Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Savannah Onstage International Arts Festival, and various venues in Europe and Asia.
