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Sam Blakeslee Large Group
Biographie Sam Blakeslee Large Group
Sam Blakeslee Large Group
is a 17-piece contemporary jazz orchestra that features original compositions and arrangements that uphold musical traditions as well as striking innovation.
In May 2023, he recorded two albums of his big band music with the Sam Blakeslee Large Group in NYC. The first album, New Blood is to be released on September 25, 2026 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records. Notable Large Group performances have included a sold-out debut at Birdland Jazz Club in NYC, Tri-C JazzFest, Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, Blu Jazz, The Bop Stop, and most recently the 2025 Jazz Education Network Conference in January 2025.
The Large Group got its start in 2013 and held a monthly residency at Blu Jazz in Akron, OH from January 2016-July 2017. Through the Blu Jazz Masterclass Foundation, the group featured many special guest artists including GRAMMY Award-Winning artists Dan Pugach & Nicole Zuraitis, Grammy- Nominated NYC jazz artists Dan Wilson, as well as Dominick Farinacci, David Smith, and renowned pianist and composer Bill Dobbins.
As a composer, In 2018, Blakeslee won the David Baker Prize in Composition from Ravinia Steans Music Institute and was also a 2020 COVID-19 Commission Grant recipient from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers. Blakeslee was also a featured presenter for his composition Ephemeral at the 2024 International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Sam Blakeslee
is an award-winning New York City-based trombonist and composer. Most recently, he was named a 2025 Rising Star Trombonist of The Year in the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll. He has performed at iconic jazz clubs and performance venues such as Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, The Jazz Gallery, Smalls, Zinc Bar, 55 Bar, The Blue Note, The Side Door Jazz Club, The Kennedy Center, Banff Centre, and Lincoln Center. Sam leads an 18-piece jazz orchestra, the Sam Blakeslee Large Group.
As a trombonist, Blakeslee is active in the contemporary big band scene in New York where he performs regularly with GRAMMY-nominated ensembles like Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows, Manuel Valera’s New Cuban Express Big Band, Terraza Big Band, Dan Pugach Nonet, New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band, and Emilio Solla’s Tango Jazz Orchestra. He also appeared on the Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows album Architecture of Storms, which was nominated in 2023 for the GRAMMY Award in the Best Large Ensemble Album category. He has also performed with jazz artists Sean Jones, Joe Lovano, Dan Wilson, Dick Oatts, Aretha Franklin, John Clayton, Big Heart Machine, Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra, Jiyhe Lee Orchestra, Tracy Yang Jazz Orchestra, Birdland Big Band, Joel Harrison Large Ensemble, Jhoely Garay Jazz Orchestra, Zhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra, and The Jazz Gallery Composer’s Showcase directed by Miho Hazama.
As a composer, In 2018, Blakeslee won the David Baker Prize in Composition from Ravinia Steans Music Institute and was also a 2020 COVID-19 Commission Grant recipient from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers. Blakeslee was also a featured presenter for his composition Ephemeral at the 2024 International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
