Ryan Nielsen

Session: Creative Jazz Improvisation: Returning Choice to the Practice Room (with John McNeil)

Praised as a “creative force” by Ra Kalam Bob Moses and as a “musician of the highest order” by renowned trumpeter Charles Daval, Ryan Nielsen’s artistry grows out of a love of groove, spirit, and beautiful melody.

In 2016, Nielsen was named trumpeter in the Kobie Watkins Grouptet. Mr. Watkins is perhaps best known for his extensive work with jazz legend Sonny Rollins. The Grouptet’s first album, “Movement,” was released on Origin Records to international critical acclaim. Howard Reich, former member of the Pulitzer Music Jury and critic for the Chicago Tribune, named “Movement” one of the Ten Best Albums of 2018.

Nielsen’s debut album, Gift of Breath (a joint project with Ra Kalam Bob Moses) was selected by the New York City Jazz Record as a 2017 Recommended New Release.

As a classical artist, Nielsen cofounded the Teton Brass Quintet with  Charles Daval (formerly Associate Principal, Boston Symphony Orchestra; Solo Trompette, Montreal Symphony Orchestra). He has also performed and recorded with the Summit Brass. 

A committed teacher and advocate, Nielsen was recently named a preliminary judge for the 2021 Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition. Together with John McNeil, he co-authored a book on teaching creative jazz improvisation due to be released by Oxford University Press in Fall 2021.

With degrees from Arizona State University and the New England Conservatory of Music, Nielsen is currently Associate Professor of Music (Trumpet) at Utah Valley University, where he runs the Wolverine Trumpet Studio.