Sun 5/17 @ 8PM
Trombonist/composer Sam Blakeslee headed north from Columbus a few years back to enroll in the jazz studies program at Youngstown State University where he got his B.A. in 2011, followed by a masters degree in brass performance from the University of Akron in 2013. He’s now teaching at Cuyahoga Community College and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
The young musician has already performed at jazz festivals in Europe and he’s starting to sink his teeth into northeast Ohio’s fertile jazz scene, playing with some of the area’s top jazz musicians and ensembles like the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.
He also has a very ambitious ensemble of his own, the Sam Blakeslee Large Group. The aptly named 17-member band performs original compositions by Blakeslee as well as other group members that blend classical and hip hop elements into traditional jazz. It features noted Cleveland players like sax player Bobby Selvaggio and trumpeter Steve Enos as well as musicians from Pittsburgh and Detroit.
They’ll perform at Blu Jazz in Akron. Tickets are $18.
blujazzakron.com/sam-blakeslee-large-group/