Ambrose Akinmusire
Trumpet / Electric Piano / Keyboards

Ambrose Akinmusire

(1982–)

Oakland, CA, United States·Manhattan School of Music

Ambrose Akinmusire (b. 1982) — Trumpet, Electric Piano. Led When the Heart Emerges Glistening, The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint, A Rift in Decorum. Worked with Justin Brown, Harish Raghavan, Sam Harris.

Akinmusire is at the vanguard of contemporary jazz trumpet. His tone is singular — he can whisper with a fragile intimacy one moment, then suddenly erupt. He's equally celebrated as a composer, and his Blue Note records have helped define what jazz can sound like in the 21st century.

Ambrose Akinmusire's leader album

When the Heart Emerges Glistening
When the Heart Emerges Glistening
Ambrose Akinmusire · 2011

When the Heart Emerges GlisteningWhen the Heart Emerges GlisteningWhen the Heart Emerges GlisteningAmbrose Akinmusire · 2011 (2011) announced Ambrose AkinmusireAmbrose AkinmusireAmbrose Akinmusireアンブローズ・アキンムシーレ as a new-generation Blue Note voice. His trumpet — capable of whisper and explosion in the same phrase — carried an aesthetic fundamentally different from the power of Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Davisマイルス・デイヴィス or Freddie.

Ambrose Akinmusire's albums

Ambrose Akinmusire's leader album

A Rift in Decorum
A Rift in Decorum
Ambrose Akinmusire · 2017
The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint
Ambrose Akinmusire · 2014

Across A Rift in DecorumA Rift in DecorumA Rift in DecorumAmbrose Akinmusire · 2017 (2014) and The Imagined Savior (2014), Ambrose AkinmusireAmbrose AkinmusireAmbrose Akinmusireアンブローズ・アキンムシーレ maintained a consistent band. Justin BrownJustin BrownJustin Brownジャスティン・ブラウン's drums and Sam HarrisSam HarrisSam Harrisサム・ハリス's piano are not accompaniment but co-authorship — inseparable from Akinmusire's sound.

Ambrose Akinmusire's albums

StandArt's guest list included Mark TurnerMark TurnerMark Turnerマーク・ターナー, Joshua RedmanJoshua RedmanJoshua Redmanジョシュア・レッドマン, and Ambrose AkinmusireAmbrose AkinmusireAmbrose Akinmusireアンブローズ・アキンムシーレ. According to JAZZIZ, Tigran HamasyanTigran HamasyanTigran Hamasyanティグラン・ハマシアン rewrote the modulation keys to fit each guest's range, while keeping the rhythmic engine of Matt Brewer and Justin BrownJustin BrownJustin Brownジャスティン・ブラウン unchanged.

— Tigran Hamasyan: StandArt and the Living Tradition, JAZZIZ, 2022