Ray Larsen is a trumpeter, improviser, and composer.
His work for stage and recording often involves improvised elements, uncommon instrument pairings, and a blend of styles: jazz, free improvisation, folk, rock, ambient, and contemporary chamber settings. His album “Songs to fill the air” was featured in the top jazz albums of 2020 by Bandcamp. He was named "Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2025 by Earshot Jazz.
Ray lives in Seattle, USA, where he teaches ensembles, music theory and trumpet performance at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle University. He is a Thane Trumpets performing artist.
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Ray formed Wish upon an invitation to perform at the 2023 Festival of New Trumpet Music (FoNT music). The band performed again several times over the next couple years, notably at the Owl and the Prospect Series in Brooklyn, and recorded their debut album (below) at Figure 8 Studios.
Wish is a Brooklyn-based improvising chamber quartet with a unique instrumentation, focused on improvised and composed counterpoint that places equal import on each instrument voice. The music takes inspiration from the florid sound of the european rennaissance and baroque eras, the earnest soul of a folk band, and the shifting tonalities of the modern day.
Ray Larsen, trumpet
Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon
Andy Clausen, trombone
Ryan El Solh, guitar
recorded at Figure 8 Studios by Michael Coleman
mixed at Blackbird Bay and Cornish College of the Arts by Ray Larsen
mastering soon...