Riley Mulherkar

Riley Mulherkar, trumpet
Julian Lee, saxophones
Chris Pattishall, piano
Russell Hall, bass
Sammy Miller, drums
feat. Vuyo Sotashe, vocals

Riley Mulherkar has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” (The New York Times) and praised by The Wall Street Journal as a "youngster to keep an eye on." Born and raised in Seattle, Riley moved to New York in 2010 to study at The Juilliard School, where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in 2014, receiving the Knowles Prize for Jazz and the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music. He received his Master’s the following year, and was an inaugural recipient of Juilliard’s Marks Fellowship. In 2011, Riley was named a "rising jazz artist" by Wynton Marsalis in JET Magazine, and in 2014 was the first recipient of the Laurie Frink Career Grant at the Festival of New Trumpet Music.

Riley has performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival, Jazz à Vienne, and Carnegie Hall, and has shared the stage with Marsalis, Leonard Slatkin, and Dave Douglas, among others. Riley is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet that has premiered over 50 original works since its inception in 2011. Their debut album, Wish The Children Would Come On Home, was hailed as “an impressive feat from almost any angle” (Nate Chinen, JazzTimes), and named Debut Album of the Year by NPR Music’s Francis Davis.

Riley is actively engaged in educational outreach. He has taught at Harlem School of the Arts, and founded the music program at stART Osceola, a summer arts intensive in Florida, where he has taught the past five years. He has also facilitated numerous master classes in Brazil, Mexico, and across the United States.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Imanaka