Sam Blakeslee is originally from Columbus, OH where he was a member of the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Todd Stoll. Through that group, he had the opportunity to travel to Italy and perform at the Fano and Mosciligiano san Angelo Jazz Festivals in 2007.
During his studies at Youngstown State University he has had the privilege to perform with Slide Hampton, Allen Vizzutti, Ralph Lalama, Rufus Reid, Vaughn Nark, and the local legend and mentor Shedrick Hobbs. Sam is a member of Mojo: The Generations Big Band. He has also been very active on the Cleveland freelance scene where he has had the pleasure to play with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Heritage Jazz Orchestra, The Paul Ferguson Jazz Orchestra, Sean Jones, Jiggs Whigham, Jim Rupp, Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Band, UpEnsemble, Bobby Sanabria, Carol Morgan, Bobby Selvaggio’s Hendectet, The Brad Wagner Sextet, Dave Morgan, and also has recorded with the pop group O.A.R.
In the spring of 2010, Sam was chosen to be one of fifteen people nationwide to attend the Steans Institute for the Young Artist at Ravinia where he studied with Rufus Reid, Curtis Fuller, Dr. Nathan Davis, and Dr. David Baker. In the summer of 2010 Sam performed at the Parma Jazz Festival in Parma, Italy with an alumni group from the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra. His arrangement of the bassist George Mraz’ composition Blues For Sarka was performed by the University of Akron Jazz Ensemble in a concert that featured George Mraz as a guest artist. This past April he was accepted into Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C where he had the chance to study with Curtis Fuller, Dr. Nathan Davis, George Cables, Chip Jackson, and Carmen Lundy. Through that residency he performed on the Millennium Stage to a worldwide audience.
Sam is currently pursuing a masters degree in classical trombone from the University of Akron. Upon completion of his degree, he plans to move to New York City.
Equipment:
- For jazz, Sam uses a 1970′s King 3B Trombone (This horn was rebuilt for Sam by Everett Beeman and he sounds great on it! Everett replaced any ruined parts, removed all of the lacquer and removed all dents. He then rebuilt the entire main slide and put on a custom finish). Sam uses a Jiggs Whigham 1A signature mouthpiece in this instrument.
- For classical, his set up is a Courtois Legend Bb/F Tenor Trombone with a Vincent Bach 5GS Mouthpiece.
We have both of these mouthpieces in stock and are both King and Courtois dealers. We currently have a used 3B in stock. Call today and make an appointment to try it out! 330-673-1525.
We are very proud that Sam has bought his equipment at our store and brings his horns to us for repair. It is a real treat for us to deal with such a pro player and great guy!
Here is a great video of Sam playing on his jazz setup:
Check out this article about his upcoming performance in the Youngstown Jazz Festival as well!
Tags: Bach 5GS · Blakeslee · brass · Classical Trombone · Courtois · Courtois Challenger · Jazz Trombone · Jiggs Whigham · Jiggs Whigham 1A · King 3B · King Trombone · Sam · Sam Balakeslee · TromboneNo Comments.
