Ray Larsen
About Ray
Ray Larsen is a trumpeter and composer whose music traverses jazz, improvised, chamber, and other styles of American music.
He has released eight albums as a leader, including work for large and small ensembles, sound collage, and layered recording. His collection Songs To Fill The Air earned a place in Bandcamp’s Best Jazz Albums of 2020 for its “view into possible futures”. In 2021, he began releasing Air in America, an ongoing political work of collaged audio drawn from the archives of the U.S. Library of Congress. His most recent project, Brooklyn-based chamber quartet Wish, premiered at the 2023 Festival of New Trumpet Music and features a growing body of contrapuntal work written for Sara Schoenbeck, Ryan El Solh and Andy Clausen. Their first album is slated for release in 2026.
Ray’s other work includes several long-form pieces for large chamber ensembles (New Studies Of The Starry Skies, How Glass Is Made, 3 Poems By Emily Dickinson, When Mountains Blow) and a treasury of tuneful sketches for trumpet trio Tyrant Lizard, free jazz collective The Sky Is A Suitcase, duo project Josh & Ray (with accordionist Josh Hou), and various other small group settings. Ray’s music can be found on Slow & Steady Records, Strange Moon Records, and Table & Chairs.
Ray is a mainstay in the projects of new music luminary Wayne Horvitz, including Music for 10 Musicians, Electric Circus, The Royal Room Collective, the Wayne Horvitz Ensemble, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Side Pocket, Motel 7, the What’s Going On Festival, Wayne’s residency at The Stone, and others. He has also worked with Ted Poor, Steve Rodby, James Falzone, Devin Gray, The Westerlies, Haley Heynderickx, Naomi Moon Siegel, Michael Shrieve’s Spellbinder, The Harry James Orchestra and Fred Radke, Seattle Modern Orchestra, The Dip, Jamie Cullum, Jacob Zimmerman, and the NY Afro Bop Alliance.
His work has been recognized with Earshot Jazz Awards for Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year (2025), Emerging Artist of the Year (2015), and Northwest Recording of the Year (with Chemical Clock, 2014), as well as a Bloedel Reserve Artist Residency.
Ray is a professor at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, where he teaches music theory, ensembles and trumpet performance. He also runs a twice-weekly concert series at Oxbow in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood. Alongside educator Emilia Kister, he co-founded the Meridian School’s beginning band program, where he taught 4th and 5th grade music for five years.
Ray studied with Allen Vizzutti and Cuong Vu and holds degrees in music (MM, BM) and conservation biology (BS) from the University of Washington. He co-founded the Improvised Music Project and IMPfest.
Ray is a triplet, a fifth generation Seattle-ite, and a Thane Trumpets performing artist.
Pronouns
he/him/his
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science - Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology
University of Washington
Bachelor of Music - Jazz Studies and Improvised Music
University of Washington
Master of Music - Jazz Studies and Improvised Music
University of Washington