Ambrose Akinmusire

Since 2008's Prelude to Cora, bandleader/composer/trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire has surveyed post-bop, ballads, free jazz, funk, and more. In 2011, he released his Blue Note debut, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, revealing mature, expansive dimensions in his playing, writing, and arranging. Each subsequent outing offers different textural and musical emphasis: 2014's The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint included guest vocalists; 2017's post-bop quartet date, A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard, was celebrated as one of the year's finest jazz outings. 2018's Origami Harvest blended spoken word, chamber music, free improvisation, and hip-hop. 2020's On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment reinforced the sometimes-gauzy union between jazz and blues. In 2021 and 2023, he recorded scores for both seasons of the TV series Blindspotting with composer Michael Yezerski. Between seasons, Akinmusire's Nonesuch debut, Owl Song, was released to global acclaim. He followed it in 2025 with Honey from a Winter Stone.