Amari Ansari - Voices (2019)

Amari Ansari was born into a musical family and began playing the alto saxophone at the age of nine. The Alabama native comes from a rich history of jazz and blues. He credits his earliest interest in music to southern gospel and the late Alabama jazz saxophonist Dr. Frank Adams Sr. Now a New Orleans entertainer, his professional career has centered around performing, composing, education, and touring. He was the recipient of the University of New Orleans’ Ellis Marsalis Jazz Scholarship where he received his Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Music. He is a member of the Grammy award-winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and is an active jazz arranger. He has been featured on Late Night television as well as several American tv series, including HBO’s Treme.

He actively performs with NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, as well as tours internationally with the Alabama southern-soul band St. Paul & the Broken Bones. He has performed throughout North America, Europe, South Africa, Australasia and has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, Solange Knowles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Temptations, and many more. In 2018 he earned the Ernest and Shirley Svensen Jazz award for composition from the University of New Orleans. His musical voice is deeply rooted in soul music and his influences include saxophonist Maceo Parker, Luther Vandross, and Frank Ocean. His debut music release, Voices EP, is available on Bubble Bath Records.