Sam Blakeslee

Originally from Columbus, OH, Sam Blakeslee is a New York City based, award-winning trombonist and composer. Since his arrival in NYC in August 2017, he has performed at iconic jazz clubs such as The 55 Bar, Smalls, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, The Jazz Gallery, Zinc Bar, Lincoln Center, and the Blue Note.

As a trombonist, Blakeslee is active in the contemporary big band scene in New York where he recorded on Remy Le Bouef’s Assembly of Shadows GRAMMY-nominated album Architecture of Storms, as well as performing with other GRAMMY-nominated ensembles like 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 has performed with jazz artists Sean Jones, Joe Lovano, Dan Wilson, Dick Oatts, Aretha Franklin, John Clayton, Big Heart Machine, and The Jazz Gallery Composer’s Showcase directed by Miho Hazama, among others.

As a composer, he was a recipient of the 2018 David Baker Prize in Composition from Ravinia Steans Music Institute and was also a 2020 COVID-19 Commission Grant recipient from International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers. As a bandleader, he has released 4 albums with his projects the Sam Blakeslee Quintet, Sam Blakeslee & Wistful Thinking, and the Sam Blakeslee Large Group. In May 2023, he recorded two albums of his big band music with the Sam Blakeslee Large Group in NYC, with both set to be released separately at later dates.

As an educator, he is currently a member of the faculty at the University of Hartford – The Hartt School, in the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz as Director of the Hartt Big Band and Artist Teacher of Jazz Trombone. He also served as the Director of the Tri-C JazzFest Jazz Academy at Cuyahoga Community College from 2015-2017, as well as having served on the faculty at Youngstown State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Cleveland Institute of Music. He has worked extensively as a clinician and guest artist at Oberlin Conservatory, Youngstown State University, University of Akron, San Diego Performing Arts School, Jazz Arts Group, Kent State University, Ashland University, Lakeside Chautauqua, Lakota West High School, Solon High School, and was an Artist-in-Residence at University of Akron in April 2023.

In May 2024, he was a featured presenter at the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. More recently, the Sam Blakeslee Large Group was selected to perform at the Jazz Education Network Conference in Atlanta, GA in January 2025. Sam will also be serving as the artistic director and conductor for the Jazz Education Network of Ohio All-State Big Band at the 2025 Ohio Music Education Conference in Cleveland, OH.