Ambrose Akinmusire ( born May 1, 1982) is an American

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Orig ...

composer and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er.

Biography

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Akinmusire was a member of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, where he caught the attention of saxophonist

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing al ...

who was visiting the school to lead a workshop. Coleman hired him as a member of his Five Elements band for a European tour. Akinmusire was also a member of the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...

's Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. Akinmusire studied at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

before returning to the West Coast to take a master's degree at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and attend the

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The in ...

in Los Angeles. In 2007, Akinmusire won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, two of the most prestigious jazz competitions in the world. The same year he released his debut recording '' Prelude... to Cora'' on the Fresh Sound New Talent label. He moved back to New York City and began performing with

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, and

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, taking part in Moran's innovative multimedia concert event ''In My Mind: Monk At Town Hall, 1957''. It was also during this time that he caught the attention of Bruce Lundvall, then President of Blue Note Records. Akinmusire made his debut on the Blue Note label in 2011 with the album ''

When the Heart Emerges Glistening ''When the Heart Emerges Glistening'' is the second studio album by American jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The album was released on 5 April 2011. The album booklet includes a letter from Blue Note CEO Bruce Lundvall expressing his praises ...

'', featuring his quintet of tenor saxophonist

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, pianist

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, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown. Akinmusire's third album, entitled '' The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint'', was released in 2014. His album ''Origami Harvest'' was included in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Best Jazz of 2018. His sixth studio album ''On the Tender Spot of every Calloused Moment'', again with his quartet of longtime bandmates – Sam Harris (piano), Harish Raghavan (bass), and Justin Brown (drums), was released in spring 2020 and received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Akinmusire is featured on the last track of

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

's 2015 release ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the Uni ...

''. He has received awards including the 2014

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

's Paul Acket Award and both the Doris Duke Artist and Doris Duke Impact Awards; recognition in the ''DownBeat'' Critics Poll has included Jazz Artist of the Year (2011) and winning the trumpet category every year from 2013 to 2020.

Selected discography

As leader

As sideman

Footnotes

External links

*
Ambrose Akinmusire Official Website

All About Jazz: Monthly Guide, December, 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinmusire, Ambrose American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Living people 1982 births USC Thornton School of Music alumni Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni African-American jazz musicians 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians Blue Note Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people