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Ambrose Akinmusire

Ambrose's conceptual extension into a new musical language is never to the exclusion of beauty. As one who listens intently, he values the fertility of a pause, of communication, of tension. Ambrose began conceptualizing early as a musician, theorizing and experimenting as a catalyst for development. He seeks other genres of music to analyze and expose, drawing inspiration from such musicians as Bjork and Chopin. Ambrose’s music restructures accepted notions of jazz in a way that reflects his ability to recognize nuances, multiplicities, and patterns. First playing piano at the age of three, his familiarity with music began long before putting his mouth to a trumpet. He is relentlessly opposed to stagnation, seeking movement in both his music and his life.

Before he was eighteen, Ambrose had already performed with such famed musicians as Joe Henderson, Joshua Redman, Steve Coleman, and Billy Higgins. After graduating Berkeley High School, he moved to New York to begin a full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Vincent Pinzerella from the New York Philharmonic, Dick Oatts, Lew Soloff, and Laurie Frink.

Throughout his studies, Ambrose continued to tether audiences to his concepts and his sound, performing publicly with Lonnie Plaxico, Stefon Harris, Josh Roseman, Vijay Iyer, Charlie Persip, the Mingus Big Band, and the San Francisco Jazz Collective, to name only a few. His exposure to dynamic modes of playing and to musicians with accumulated experiences only promoted the development of his own distinct musical style. Currently in a Masters program at USC, and a member of the Monk Institute, Ambrose’s instructors include Terence Blanchard, Billy Childs and Gary Grant. In the past year, he has worked with such artists as Jimmy Heath, Jason Moran, Hal Crook, Bob Hurst, Terri Lynne Carrington, Ron Carter, and Wallace Roney, and performed in Vietnam with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

As for a conclusion, there is none. Ambrose’s musical trajectory continues to grow in more than one direction, drawing from the most unconventional sources, unraveling the most comfortable conceptions of limitation. His persistent reevaluations and his aspirations to evolution and beauty carry it to an entirely new space within itself.

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Radio & Podcasts

Ambrose Akinmusire, ladyybirdd, Enji, Joseph Branciforte, Theo Bleckmann

Read "Ambrose Akinmusire, ladyybirdd, Enji, Joseph Branciforte, Theo Bleckmann" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


We may regret missing out on the time when some of our jazz idols were building the foundation of the music we love, but we can still fantasize about them. We are lucky, however, to live at a time when there is a number of modern masters in action. One of them is trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, for whom 2023 was a remarkable year. Here we focus on the wide range of releases he has worked on, as well as on ...

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Live Review

Ambrose Akinmusire and Bill Frisell at The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Read "Ambrose Akinmusire and Bill Frisell at The Theatre at Ace Hotel" reviewed by Josef Woodard


Ambrose Akinmusire and Bill FrisellThe Theatre at Ace HotelLos Angeles, California October 14, 2023 In playing the imaginary match game, in which we speculate on jazz musicians who would and should get along beautifully, the conjoining of Ambrose Akinmusire and Bill Frisell could seem like a no-brainer. Thankfully, this particular partnering fait accompli has recently been accomplished and is going public. Akinmusire is releasing his Owl Song project with Frisell on Nonesuch--his first for that ...

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Album Review

Benjamin Boone: Caught in the Rhythm

Read "Caught in the Rhythm" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The connection between poetry and jazz music is a delicate one. It has been documented so infrequently, in performance and recordings, that one still conjures the flicker of an image of Jack Kerouac reading in some dark Greenwich Village cafe with Steve Allen or Zoot Sims, surrounded by beret-wearing, cappuccino-sipping beatniks. The work of Fresno-based saxophonist Benjamin Boone has assisted in widening that view through four albums recorded for the Origin Records label, including the fourth, Caught in the Rhythm ...

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Album Review

Billy Childs: The Winds of Change

Read "The Winds of Change" reviewed by Neil Duggan


Billy Childs, one of the most critically acclaimed pianists in modern jazz, is in high demand as a modern classical composer. He has played and composed music ranging from orchestral to chamber works to contemporary small ensemble jazz. This has brought him five Grammy awards to date. Starting as a pianist in his native Los Angeles, he then spent six years with Freddie Hubbard's band before becoming a leader in his own right. He has performed with a ...

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Liner Notes

David Binney: Barefooted Town

Read "David Binney: Barefooted Town" reviewed by Josef Woodard


Continuing Saga of the Strong Seeker I remember distinctly during the 2007 Montreal Jazz Festival, sifting through and measuring up the usual blur of stimuli, seeking out the prizes among prizes in the program. In one corner, there was Wayne Shorter, in the finest of his performance I'd ever heard—playing up his suits as composer and soloist by meshing his free-wheeling quartet and the score-heeding Imani Winds. And then, in another corner, as part of the late night haunt of ...

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Album Review

Tigran Hamasyan: Stand Art

Read "Stand Art" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Many jazz pianists start out by playing tunes from the standard pop and jazz repertoires before tackling their own compositions. Tigran Hamasyan has gone in the opposite direction. He has been recording original works and traditional Armenian songs since 2005. Now, on his eleventh album, he finally gets around to playing American standards. Hamasyan leads a trio here with Matt Brewer on bass and Justin Brown on drums, occasionally helped out by tenor saxophonists Mark Turner and Joshua ...

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Live Review

Trefoil: Ambrose Akinmusire, Kris Davis, and Gerald Cleaver at The Bop Stop

Read "Trefoil: Ambrose Akinmusire, Kris Davis, and Gerald Cleaver at The Bop Stop" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Trefoil: Ambrose Akinmusire, Kris Davis, and Gerald Cleaver Bop Stop jny:Cleveland, Ohio March 20, 2022 With a distinguished resume that includes his 2007 wins in both the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire still finds himself traveling under the radar of the general jazz listening public. Grammy nominations and appearances with a wide range of artists from Joni Mitchell to Kendrick Lamar have served ...

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Recording

Jessica Jones And Tony Jones Two New Releases January 22! Jessica Jones Quartet Continuum (with Special Guest Ambrose Akinmusire) & Pitch, Rhythm And Consciousness Quartet

Jessica Jones And Tony Jones Two New Releases January 22!    Jessica Jones Quartet Continuum (with Special Guest Ambrose Akinmusire) &  Pitch, Rhythm And Consciousness Quartet

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Jessica Jones Quartet CONTINUUM with Special Guest Ambrose Akinmusire PLUS: PITCH, RHYTHM AND CONSCIOUSNESS QUARTET Tuesday, January 8th at 7pm Reva Records 'Live' Recording featuring vocalist Candace Jones (during Jazz Congress week. Join us!) ShapeShifter Lab 18 Whitwell Pl. Brooklyn, New York 11215 phone: 646-820-945 Sunday, January 13th at 1pm Jessica Jones Quartet “Continuum" CD release concert with special guests The Back Room

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Performance / Tour

Jazz At Princeton University Presents Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire In World Premiere On Saturday, Nov. 17

Jazz At Princeton University Presents Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire In World Premiere On Saturday, Nov. 17

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

Jazz at Princeton University presents guest artist and Blue Note Records trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire in the world premiere of Slightly Left of Sorrow's Song, commissioned by Jazz at Princeton University to commemorate the 150th anniversary of W.E.B. DuBois' birth. Akinmusire will perform the 8-movement suite with the school's Small Group I under the leadership of saxophonist and program director Rudresh Mahanthappa. The concert takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 17 at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall. Tickets are ...

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Award / Grant

Jazz Bakery Receives NEA Art Works Grant

Jazz Bakery Receives NEA Art Works Grant

Source: All About Jazz

The National Endowment for the Arts announced today that The Jazz Bakery Performance Space will receive its fourth NEA Art Works Grant. This new award of $25,000 will support performances and youth outreach events as part of its “Concerts and Conversations with Southern California Jazz Legends” series. Artists invited to perform in this series include: Kamasi Washington, Les McCann, Billy Childs, Anthony Wilson, Nels Cline and Alex Cline. Additional support for this program comes from the Herb Alpert Foundation. “The ...

Education

Music Education Monday: A master class with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire

Music Education Monday: A master class with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Today for Music Education Monday, it's a master class from trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. A rising star in the jazz world, the 33-year-old native of Oakland, CA studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California, and in 2007 was the winner of both the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition. Akinmusire has performed and recorded as a sideman with musicians including Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Jason Moran, and ...

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Festival

Ambrose Akinmusire Headlines Bray Jazz 2015

Ambrose Akinmusire Headlines Bray Jazz 2015

Source: All About Jazz

Bray Jazz returns for its 16th edition this coming Bank Holiday weekend from 1-3 May. The highly popular festival, set in the picturesque seaside town of Bray nestled at the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, has built a reputation over the years for hosting world class international and local acts. Bray Jazz 2015 is no exception. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire was voted Downbeat Artist of The Year 2011 and is widely considered as one of the most exciting jazz trumpeters on ...

Performance / Tour

Duke Performances Presents The Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet In Durham, North Carolina October 12- 13, 2012

Duke Performances  Presents The Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet In Durham, North Carolina  October 12- 13, 2012

Source: Larry Reni Thomas

By Larry Reni Thomas The Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, featuring Ambrose on trumpet; Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone; Sam Harris, piano; Harish Raghavan, bass; and Justin Brown, drums, will be appearing at the Casbah in Durham, North Carolina, October 12 and 13, 2012. The much-anticipated and talk-about concerts, sponsored by Duke Performances, gives the area’s legion of jazz lovers two rare chances to witness a high-powered ensemble that is one of the biggest buzzes in the jazz world. This hot band ...

Festival

Newport Festivals Foundation Offers $15 Tickets To Students At Select New England Schools

Newport Festivals Foundation Offers $15 Tickets To Students At Select  New England Schools

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations

NEWPORT, RI: Following its mission to educate and inform young people about jazz, the Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. is offering $15 Student Discount Tickets to encourage music students from Boston University, Rhode Island College, University of Rhode Island, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory to attend the Newport Jazz Festival® on Saturday and Sunday, August 4-5. “What better way to encourage young people to listen to live jazz than helping them to attend the festival at a price ...

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Career

APAP JazzConnect Session: NEA Jazz Masters & Jazz Futures: Paying It Forward @ Hilton New York: January 9

APAP JazzConnect Session: NEA Jazz Masters & Jazz Futures: Paying It Forward @ Hilton New York: January 9

Source: Michael Ricci

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters features jazz—its leaders, masters and music—at annual performing arts industry conference in New York City. Topic NEA Jazz Masters & Jazz Futures: Paying It Forward Where Hilton New York Mercury Ballroom New York, NY 212-586-7000 When Mon, January 9, 2012 11 AM-12 PM Admission Free About the event Mentoring is alive and well in the jazz community. NEA ...

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Event

Carnegie Hall & Joyce/George Wein Foundation Present Ambrose Akinmusire Big Band

Carnegie Hall & Joyce/George Wein Foundation Present Ambrose Akinmusire Big Band

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations

JAZZ TRUMPETER AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE LEADS HIS BIG BAND FOR ITS WORLDWIDE DEBUT PERFORMANCE ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, IN ZANKEL HALL Jazz trumpeter and Blue Note recording artist Ambrose Akinmusire leads his big band for the ensemble's worldwide debut performance on Saturday, December 3, at 10:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall. The trumpeter, whose talents have been increasingly recognized since 2007 when he won both the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, was signed ...

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Festival

Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Festival Now Accepting Applications

Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Festival Now Accepting Applications

Source: Monterey Jazz Festival

Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Jazz Festival Now Accepting Applications from Student Big Bands, Combos, Vocal Ensembles, Composers, Individual Musicians Next Generation Jazz Festival Includes Free Concerts, Clinics, Workshops, and Jazz Competition, March 30 to April 1, 2012 in Downtown Monterey Country's Top Young Players Compete for Performance Opportunities at 55th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, September 21-23, 2012 Next Generation Jazz Festival Jazz Competition Open to Middle School, High School, Conglomerate School, and College Level Musicians and Vocalists Ambrose Akinmusire ...

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Winds of Change

Mack Avenue Records
2023

buy

Caught in the Rhythm

Origin Records
2023

buy

Stand Art

Nonesuch Records
2022

buy

InWhatStrumentals

Pi Recordings
2020

buy

On The Tender Spot Of...

Blue Note Records
2020

buy

Mississippi 1955 Confessional

From: Caught in the Rhythm
By Ambrose Akinmusire

The End of Innocence

From: The Winds of Change
By Ambrose Akinmusire

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