Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 73,158 at the 2020 United States Census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 United St ...

. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he began playing at the age of 15. He has at times worked with

Jimmy Haslip James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets, which he left in 2012. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass. Early life and ...

and Russ Ferrante.

Career

Although Rangell's parents weren't musicians,Bentley, Mary. (2005). uoting Nelson Rangell– "Neither of my parents are musicians, although both of them...were very aesthetic people" his siblings have careers in music. His brother Andrew is a

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and his brother Bobby is a woodwind player in Europe. His sister Paula is a singer. Rangell first played flute at the age of 15. Within six months he was studying both jazz and classical music at the

Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. In ...

, a camp for gifted music students. He attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

in Boston. As a student he won Best Jazz and Best Pop/Rock Instrumental Soloist in the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine National Student Recording Awards. After college he moved to New York City in 1984. During the next four years he worked as a sideman with

Eric Marienthal Eric Marienthal (born December 19, 1957) is a Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, and pop genres. Early life Eric Marienthal was born on December 19, 1 ...

Hiram Bullock Hiram Law Bullock (September 11, 1955 – July 25, 2008) was an American guitarist known mainly for playing in jazz funk and jazz fusion, but he also worked as a session musician in a variety of genres. Biography Bullock was born in Osaka, Jap ...

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. ''Early life and career'' Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, Gale grew up in a diverse household. His paternal grandfather was from Yorksh ...

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", " Sl ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

, and the

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

Monday Night Orchestra. He also worked on jingles for commercials. His debut album was released in 1987 by Gaia/

Gramavision Records Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk music, folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres. In 1979, Jo ...

. Soon after, he was signed to GRP by

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

and Larry Rosen. In the 1980s he was a member of Members Only, a jazz ensemble which recorded for

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. Beginning in 1989, he recorded eight albums for GRP. He has recorded with

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

, Chuck Loeb,

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

, Tom Browne, the

GRP All-Star Big Band The GRP All-Star Big Band was a contemporary big band assembled in the late 1980s by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, the founders of GRP Records. The band played new arrangements of popular jazz pieces from the 1950s and 1960s. Its albums '' GRP All ...

and is featured on ''The Hang'', an album by

Don Grusin Don Grusin (born April 22, 1941) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. He is the younger brother of Dave Grusin. Career Don Grusin grew up in Littleton, Colorado. His father, a native of Latvia, was a classical violinis ...

that was nominated for a Grammy Award. In the late 1990s he signed with

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

Discography

* ''To Begin Again'' (1988) * ''Playing for Keeps'' (1989) * ''Nelson Rangell'' (1990) * ''In Every Moment'' (1992) * ''Truest Heart'' (1993) * ''Yes, Then Yes'' (1994) * ''Destiny'' (1995) * ''Turning Night into Day'' (1997) * ''Always'' (1999) * ''Far Away Day'' (2000) * ''Look Again'' (2003) * ''All I Hope for Christmas'' (2004) * ''My American Songbook Vol.1'' (2005) * ''Soul to Souls'' (2006) * ''Red'' (2015) * ''Blue'' (2015) * ''By Light'' (2019)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rangell, Nelson 1960 births American jazz flautists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists GRP Records artists Living people People from Castle Rock, Colorado Smooth jazz saxophonists The Rippingtons members 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Colorado 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians GRP All-Star Big Band members Members Only (band) members 21st-century flautists