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Nicole Rampersaud

Nicole Rampersaud is a Canadian Trumpet Player, Composer, and Recording Artist, focused on creating music that cuts through genre, culture, and hyperbole to create resonate experiences that connect people from all walks of life. Through Improvisation and Experimentalism, Nicole creates a unique yet versatile sonic language that easily adapts to any musical situation, attesting to her relentless ambition to expand her mastery of a broad range of musical practices and traditions. She is an established and resourceful side person, having worked with a diverse and ever-expanding group of musicians including: Anthony Braxton, Joe Morris, Rakalam Bob Moses, and Sandro Perri, to name a few.

Nicole has been performing and composing solo trumpet music since 2008, and continues to use this as a vehicle to deconstruct and abstract the trumpet’s traditional sonic possibilities. In solo performances, Nicole improvises composites of her pieces in the moment, resulting in compelling structures that engage, challenge, and, ultimately, involve audiences in the creation of a connected experience.

Nicole is a founding member of the Canadian improvising trio, c_RL, featuring Percussionist and Composer, Germaine Liu and Composer and Improviser, Allison Cameron. She also works extensively with pianist Marilyn Lerner as the duo, Brass Knuckle Sandwich. As a Composer, Nicole’s works have been performed at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales, the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York, and the Suddenly Listen series in Halifax. She has received multiple grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

Born and raised in Toronto, Nicole holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto’s Jazz PerformanceProgram. Upon graduating from the University, Nicole was offered a scholarship to continue her studies at the New England Conservatory, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies. While at the Conservatory, Nicole studied with Danilo Perez, John McNeil, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Morris, Herb Pomeroy, Joe Maneri, and Bob Moses. She also studied composition with Michael Gandolfi and Ken Schaphorst.

In addition to her projects as a leader, Nicole is currently a member of Brodie West’s Eucalyptus, and performs with Joseph Shabason. 2019 will see the release of a new mixtape project, new albums by c_RL, and Brass Knuckle Sandwich, and new collaborations with Guitarist and Improviser, Joel LeBlanc.

Awards

Recipient of Grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.


Tags

Album Review

Michael Vlatkovich 5 Winds: Five of Us

Read "Five of Us" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Ensemble (nello specifico quintetto) di soli fiati (non solo ance ma anche ottoni), come una volta era praticamente inaudito, dopo di che ci si sono misurati in diversi, e in tempi recenti quasi più nessuno: questa è la formazione a cui si rivolge il vulcanico trombonista losangelino Michael Vlatkovich per questo suo nuovo lavoro, peraltro inciso (a Toronto) nell'abbastanza lontano 2015. Vi trova posto una musica curata, parecchio scritta ma non per questo priva di singoli apporti in grado di ...

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“The show began with a solo set from local trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud, who blew fitful runs of cascading melody augmented by vigorous muting action, alternately burnishing and dulling the trumpet’s sonority to wring as much tonal range as possible from the instrument.” — Mark Streeter, NOW Magazine

"Challenging, yet eminently accessible and beautiful to hear was the captivating duo set of Toronto-based improvising pianist Marilyn Lerner and trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud. They’re called Brass Knuckle Sandwich, but their collaboration is all about individual creative expression, complicity, and a commitment to refined aesthetic values. Lerner called on a vast background – from classical to Klezmer – to develop themes that mesh with Rampersaud’s trumpet explorations and sonic techniques, providing another festival highlight." - Irwin Block, Avant Music News

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Primary Instrument

Trumpet

Location

Halifax

Photos

Music

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