Ambrose Akinmusire

Ambrose Akinmusire plays the Perelman Theater on Thursday, February 25, 2027, as part of the Jazz Series. He'll be performing with his trio, so it's a small group on a larger stage.

If you're not familiar with him, Akinmusire is an American avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer whose work pulls from jazz, avant-garde jazz, and post-bop. He's been at this for over twenty years, and in that time he's earned three Grammy nominations. He's spent much of his career moving between the center and the periphery of the jazz world, and more recently he's been popping up in classical and hip hop circles, too. He draws from other genres, the arts, and life into compositions that critics have called poetic, graceful, bold, and unflinching, and he's a regular on critics' polls.

He's picked up grants and commissions from the Doris Duke Foundation, the MAP Fund, the Kennedy Center, the Berlin Jazz Festival, and the Chanel Next Prize 2026. Downbeat has named him one of the most interesting artists of our time, and his trumpet playing is often praised for its tenderness and meditative beauty.

His discography gives you a good sense of the ground he covers. There's Prelude (2008), The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint (2014), Origami Harvest (2018), Beauty Is Enough (2023), Owl Song (2023), honey from a winter stone (2025), Strange Heavens (2025), and Slo Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (2026). That's a lot of records to work from, and with a trio on stage, there's plenty of room for the music to breathe.

The show is at the Perelman Theater at The Kimmel Center, 300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, on Thursday, February 25, 2027, starting at 7:30 PM.