Just twenty-four years of age, trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator Tatum Greenblatt is quickly establishing himself as an important voice on New York City's modern Jazz scene. Mentioned on Wynton Marsalis' website as one of his favorite young trumpet players, (www.wyntonmarsalis.com/FAQ) Tatum Greenblatt has already appeared with the legendary Mr. Marsalis, as well as with Joe Lovano, Mark Murphy, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Mingus Big Band, Christian McBride, Jeremy Pelt, Alicia Keys, Reggie Workman, George Garzone, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, among many others.
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Tatum grew up in a musical household--his father is Tenor Saxophonist and Author Dan Greenblatt--and was listening to Art Blakey, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis before he could talk. Tatum began playing music as a toddler, starting first with the drums, then switching to piano, then finally settling on the trumpet at the age of nine. After a year on the instrument Tatum began performing in the Seattle area in a community youth-band, giving Tatum his first taste of big-band playing and improvisation when he was still in the 5th grade. Over the next seven years Tatum benifited immensely from Seattle's award-winning school music programs, which offered him the opportunity to perform all over the world, including award-winning appearences at the Lional Hampton, Essentially Ellington, and Monterrey Jazz Festivals in the United States, and the Montruex and North Sea Jazz Festivals in Europe. During these years Tatum also established himself as one of the best young trumpet players on the scene in Seattle and performed regularly with many different groups at such jazz institutions as The Jazz Alley, Tula's and The New Orleans. In 2000 Tatum was selected to be a part of the Monterrey Jazz Festival High School All Star Big Band which brought him on tour to Japan, performing at Jazz festivals all over the country.
Tatum Greenblatt moved to New York City at the age of eighteen after deciding to attend New School University's Jazz and Contemporary Music Progam, which is home to such alumni as Roy Hargrove and Brad Meldhau. At The New School, Tatum had an opportunity to study trumpet and improvisation with some of the great masters of jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Tarrell Stafford, George Garzone, Joe Magnerelli, Jimmy Owens, Junior Mance, and Bobby Sanabria. Tatum also developed a strong passion for composition and arranging while at the New School and had the opportunity to study with two of the finest composers in New York: Bill Kirchner and Rich Shemaria. Working with such amazing musicians from so many areas of the musical spectrum allowed Tatum to begin to shape his own sound, both on his horn and on paper.
Today Tatum can be heard in a variety of musical settings. He is currently a member of two of the most interesting large ensembles on the scene: Mr. Vivo, and eleven peice Argentinian Jazz Big Band, and the MK Groove Orchestra, a fourteen peice mad-house of funk, afro-beat, jazz, rock, and anything else that can be digested by the human ear. Tatum also plays regularly with the Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra, the Jesse Elder Quintet, and in his own groups featuring many of the great young musicians today, such as Frank LoCrasto, Bob DeBoo, Tommy Crane, and Jamire Williams. Tatum is currently enrolled in the Juilliard Jazz Program pursuing his Master's Degree.
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