Andrew N
Artist
New York, NY Member since February 2016
Andrew Neesley is an award-winning jazz trumpeter and inventive composer who regularly brings his acclaimed horn style to club and festival stages. Based in New York, Neesley has made his mark nationally performing with contemporary music greats as well as other up-and-coming artists.
Neesley has performed, composed, and arranged with the Bobby Sanabria Big Band on their releases entitled "Big Band Urban Folktales" and "Multiverse", both nominated for GRAMMY awards, in 2007 and 2012. He has also composed and arranged for "Kenya Revisted LIVE!!!", the 2009 Latin GRAMMY-nominated album. As a leader of his own bands, Nees and Vos, and Jesus On The Mainline, he has released three albums and has recently successfully crowd-funded his next album via Kickstarter.com. He publishes his work as a composer and arranger through Ron Keezer's Really Good Music, LLC, Neesley Music and Missing Link Music.
Neesley is a past recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award and winner of the National Trumpet Competition. In the past, he collected a DownBeat magazine Student Award for Best Engineered Studio Album.
Fluent in a range of styles, Neesley has recorded or performed with Jon Faddis, Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Byron Stripling, Slide Hampton, Geoff Keezer, Adam Levy, Randy Brecker, Ray Barreto, Candido, Dick Oats, Mike Abene, Carl Allen, Ingrid Jensen, Jon Irabagon, Ed Calle, Jason Marsalis, Bill Reichenbach, Chris Botti, James Taylor, Peter Yarrow, and the Roots. He had the rare opportunity, in 2002, to perform as guest soloist with the Brass Band of Battle Creek, performing his own arrangement of “Stardust" alongside Wycliffe Gordon.
Neesley has appeared and competed in top venues, from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater and Ravinia, to Birdland, Jazz Standard, Rockwood Music Hall, and Joe's Pub. In the past, he has participated in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and programs at The Steans Institute, Jazz Aspen and Brevard Music Institute. He has performed in concerts aired live on the Internet and BET on Jazz. At one time, Neesley hosted a his own national public radio program, live from The Stone’s Throw featuring musicians from across the nation.
After starting out on violin at age four, Neesley attended Interlochen Arts Camp for eight summers of intense study. There he took up the trumpet and developed an abiding interest in jazz. As a student, Neesley competed successfully for various international honors and music fellowships.
Neesley maintains a private lesson studio in New York and has served on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Stout. His practice includes teaching brass and jazz improvisation to a new generation of musicians. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he performed with the GRAMMY-nominated Jazz Ensemble I, Neesley has recently completed an advanced degree at the Manhattan School of Music, where he now serves as Associate Jazz Coordinator.
Not content with only the performing, composing, and arranging side of the entertainment industry, Neesley has also served as art director on the GRAMMY-nominated and -winning albums of Maria Schneider, "Sky Blue" and "Winter Morning Walks" and the Gil Evans Centential Project, "Centenial".