Andrew Neesley

Andrew Neesley is an award-winning and inventive trumpeter, violinist, singer, composer, and producer who regularly brings his acclaimed style to club and festival stages. Born in Milwaukee and based in New York, Neesley has made his mark nationally performing with contemporary music greats.

Neesley has performed, composed, and arranged with the Bobby Sanabria Big Band on their releases Big Band Urban Folktales and Multiverse, both nominated for GRAMMY awards, in 2007 and 2012. He has also composed and arranged for Kenya Revisited LIVE!!!, the 2009 Latin GRAMMY-nominated album. They celebrated Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story with West Side Story: Reimagned, a live recording from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy Club Coca-Cola in November 2017.

His current project, Jesus On The Mainline, recently released their debut full-length album for Ropeadope Records. Titled The Morning Bell, it features over 20 of NYC’s finest young musicians over 10 songs. “...they make a wonderfully raucous, gospel-tinged noise.” says John Schaefer of WNYC.

He previously led Nees and Vos, a collaboration with Chris Vos of The Record Company, for ten years culminating with three albums. A partnership with drummer David Whitman led to two albums recorded at Capitol Studios. Oh, Clara! in 2016 and an upcoming 2018 album. The former won the 2017 Independent Music Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Neesley wrote and arranged all music in addition to recording trumpet alongside pianist Geoff Keezer. He recently arranged and produced Augie Haas’s Have We Met? for Playtime Music.

Neesley serves as Music Director for mmm... bands, a boutique private event company boasting over $2M in bookings since their inception in 2013. He publishes his work as a composer and arranger through Ron Keezer’s Really Good Music, LLC, Neesley Music, and MAINLINE MUSIC. Neesley is a past recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award, winner of the National Trumpet Competition and finalist in the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition. In the past, he collected a DownBeat magazine Student Award for Best Engineered Studio Album.

Fluent in a range of styles, Neesley has recorded or performed with Lady Gaga, NEA Jazz Master Candido, the Roots, James Taylor, Peter Yarrow, Chris Botti, Jon Faddis, Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Slide Hampton, Geoff Keezer, Adam Levy, Randy Brecker, Ray Barreto, and Dick Oats. He had the rare opportunity, in 2002, to perform as guest soloist with the Brass Band of Battle Creek, performing his own arrangement of “Stardust” alongside Wycliffe Gordon.

Neesley has appeared and competed in top venues and festivals, from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater and Ravinia, to Summerfest, Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, Birdland, Jazz Standard, Rockwood Music Hall, Bowery Ballroom, and Joe’s Pub. He has participated in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and programs at The Steans Institute, Jazz Aspen and Brevard Music Institute. He has performed in concerts aired live on the Internet and BET on Jazz. At one time, Neesley hosted a his own national public radio program, Live from The Stone’s Throw, featuring musicians from across the nation.

After starting out on violin at age four, Neesley attended Interlochen Arts Camp for eight summers of intense study. There he took up the trumpet and developed an abiding interest in jazz. As a student, Neesley competed successfully for various international honors and music fellowships.

Neesley maintains a private lesson studio in New York and has served on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His practice includes teaching brass and jazz improvisation to a new generation of musicians. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he performed with the GRAMMY-nominated Jazz Ensemble I. He later completed an advanced degree at the Manhattan School of Music, where he served as Jazz Coordinator while giving Master Classes on the business of music.

Not content with only the performing, composing, and arranging, Neesley has also served as art director on the GRAMMY-nominated and -winning albums of Maria Schneider, Sky Blue and Winter Morning Walks and the Gil Evans Centennial Project, Centennial, and Live at Jazz Standard: Lines of Color, among over 40 other releases. Show less