Ambrose Akinmusire on Tour | Starting Sept 9th, 2010

AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE PREPS FOR BLUE NOTE DEBUT

WITH QUINTET TOUR IN SEPTEMBER; TRUMPETER TO TOUR

WITH SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE IN OCTOBER

Acclaimed young trumpeter and new Blue Note recording artist Ambrose Akinmusire will be embarking on a short run of U.S. tour dates with his quintet next week as he prepares to enter the studio in late-September to record his Blue Note debut. The tour includes performances at the Jazz Gallery in New York City (Sept. 9-10), Yoshi’s in Oakland (Sept. 14), and Café Metropol in Los Angeles (Sept. 16). Akinmusire’s quintet features saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown. Label-mate Jason Moran will be joining them in the studio as co-producer.

Akinmusire will also be touring as a special guest with the SF Jazz Collective throughout October. The SF Jazz Collective currently features alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, trombonist Luis Bonilla, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist Ed Simon, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland. See full tour dates below.

AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE QUINTET

Sept. 9-10 – The Jazz Gallery – New York, NY
Sept. 11-12 – Tula’s – Seattle, WA
Sept. 13 – Kuumbwa – Santa Cruz,  CA
Sept. 14 – Yoshi’s – Oakland, CA
Sept. 15 – Brubeck Institute – Stockton, CA
Sept. 16 – Café Metropol – Los Angeles, CA

SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE
Oct. 14 – Williams Center for the Arts – Easton, PA     
Oct. 15 – The Egg – Albany, NY
Oct. 17 – Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center – Erie, PA
Oct. 23 – Staller Center for the Arts – Stony Brook, NY
Oct. 24 – Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center – College Park, MD
Oct. 27 – Modlin Center for the Arts – Richmond, VA
Oct. 28 – Duke Performances – Durham, NC   
Oct. 29 – Aycock Auditorium – Greensboro, NC

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Akinmusire (pronounced ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee) was born and raised in Oakland, California. After attending the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship, the young trumpeter returned to the west coast to pursue a Masters degree at the University of Southern California. In 2007, Akinmusire won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition from a panel of judges that included Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert, Terence Blanchard, Hugh Masekela, Clark Terry and Roy Hargrove. That year he also won the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, and released his debut recording Prelude…To Cora on the Fresh Sound New Talent label.

Akinmusire went on to attend the Monk Institute of Jazz where he studied with Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. He recently performed as part of Jason Moran’s multimedia concert event In My Mind: Monk At Town Hall, 1957, and has also recorded with the likes of Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Aaron Parks, and Esperanza Spalding. He is currently based in New York City.