Ambrose Akinmusire was born in Oakland, California on May 1, 1982. During high school he played in the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble where he caught the ear of saxophonist Steve Coleman who was at the school to lead a workshop. Coleman hired Akinmusire for a European tour with his band.

Akinmusire studied at the Manhattan School of Music before returning to the west coast to get a master’s degree at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In 2007, Akinmusire won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition. A year later he released his first album after returning to New York City where he began performing with Vijay Iyer, Aaron Parks, Sara Gazarek and esperanza spalding.

Since making his debut on the Blue Note label in 2011, Akinmusire has won recognition in the DownBeat Magazine Critics' Poll including being named Jazz Artist of the Year and winning the trumpet category every year between 2013 to 2020. At the 2026 Grammy Awards his album “Honey from a Winter Stone” received a nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album.

Here is a link to Akinmusire playing a composition he wrote with the WDR Big Band:

"VARTHA"