Sam Blakeslee Large Group "New Blood" Album Release

Trombonist and composer, Sam Blakeslee, is back home to Akron via NYC to celebrate the release of his latest album "New Blood". Catch his explosive large group play Sam's latest album in its entirety with a special two-show event at BLU on Friday, November 13th.

*Each performance is ticketed separately*

Doors: 6:00pm

First Show: 7:00pm

Second Show: 9:00pm

Tickets: $30 General Admission (ticket is only valid for either 7pm or 9pm performance)

Featuring...

Woodwinds:

Bobby Selvaggio

Nathan-Paul Davis

Max Schlenk

Steve Kortyka

Bettyjeane Quimby

Trumpets:

Scott McKee

Garrett Folger

Theresa May

Ephraim Miller

Trombones:

Mark Mauldin

Chris Anderson

Zach Warren

Amber Forrer

Rhythm Section:

Dan Bruce - guitar

Timo Jin-En Mok - piano

Kip Reed - bass

Zaire Darden - drums

SAM BLAKESLEE BIO

Sam Blakeslee is an award-winning New York City-based trombonist and composer. Most recently he was named in both the 2025 and 2026 Rising Star Trombonist of The Year in Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll. He has performed at iconic jazz clubs such as Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, The Jazz Gallery, Smalls, Zinc Bar, 55 Bar, The Blue Note, The Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center, among others. Sam leads an 18-piece jazz orchestra, the Sam Blakeslee Large Group, which will release a debut album New Blood on September 25, 2026 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.

As a trombonist, Blakeslee is active in the contemporary big band scene in New York where he performs regularly with GRAMMY-nominated ensembles like Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows, 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 also appeared on the Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows album Architecture of Storms, which was nominated in 2023 for the GRAMMY Award in the Best Large Ensemble Album category. He has also performed with jazz artists Sean Jones, Joe Lovano, Dan Wilson, Dick Oatts, Aretha Franklin, John Clayton, Big Heart Machine, Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra, Jiyhe Lee Orchestra, Tracy Yang Jazz Orchestra, Birdland Big Band, Joel Harrison Large Ensemble, and The Jazz Gallery Composer’s Showcase directed by Miho Hazama.

As a composer, In 2018, Blakeslee won the David Baker Prize in Composition from Ravinia Steans Music Institute and was also a 2020 COVID-19 Commission Grant recipient from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers. Blakeslee was also a featured presenter for his composition Ephemeral at the 2024 International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

As a bandleader, he has released 5 albums as a leader including 3 with his eclectic ensemble Wistful Thinking. In May 2023, he recorded two albums of his big band music with the Sam Blakeslee Large Group in NYC. The first album, New Blood is to be released on September 25, 2026 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records. Jonathan Blackman from Occhi Magazine states, "If “New Blood” is any indication, Sam Blakeslee is not just contributing to the modern big band scene—he’s helping to shape its future. His music is provocative without being harsh, sophisticated without feeling sterile, and designed to allow soloists to shine within a larger context." Notable Large Group performances have included a sold-out debut at Birdland Jazz Club in NYC, Tri-C JazzFest, Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, Blu Jazz, The Bop Stop, and the 2025 Jazz Education Network Conference in January 2025.

As an educator, he is currently on faculty at the University of Hartford - Hartt School of Music, in the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz as Director of the Hartt Big Band and Artist Teacher of Trombone. Before his arrival to New York City in 2017, he was the Director of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy and also served on the faculty at Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Youngstown State University. Sam is also an endorsing artist for Conn-Selmer/King Trombones and Denis Wick Mouthpieces & Mutes.