Nelson Rangell (born March 26, 1960) is an American smooth jazz musician and composer from

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most-populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town’s population was 73,158 at the 2020 census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 census. Castle Ro ...

. Although he is known for his work with the tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, his primary instrument is the piccolo, which he began playing at the age of 15. He has at times worked with

Jimmy Haslip James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets, which he left in 2012. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass. Early life and ...

and Russ Ferrante.

Career

Although Rangell's parents weren't musicians,Bentley, Mary. (2005). uoting Nelson Rangell– "Neither of my parents are musicians, although both of them...were very aesthetic people" his siblings have careers in music. His brother Andrew is a concert pianist and his brother Bobby is a woodwind player in Europe. His sister Paula is a singer. Rangell first played flute at the age of 15. Within six months he was studying both jazz and classical music at the

Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts ( '; also known as I.C.A. or Inty) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit corporation which operates Visual arts education, arts education institutions and Music venue, performance venues. Established in 1928 b ...

, a camp for gifted music students. He attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

in Boston. As a student he won Best Jazz and Best Pop/Rock Instrumental Soloist in the ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine National Student Recording Awards. After college he moved to New York City in 1984. During the next four years he worked as a sideman with

Eric Marienthal Eric Marienthal (born December 19, 1957) is a Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, and pop genres. Early life Eric Marienthal was born on December 19, 1 ...

Hiram Bullock Hiram Law Bullock (September 11, 1955 – July 25, 2008) was an American guitarist known mainly for playing in jazz funk and jazz fusion, but he also worked as a session musician in a variety of genres. Biography Bullock was born in Osaka, Ja ...

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and jazz fusion guitarist. Biography Eric Gale was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. His grandfather was English, and Gale had relatives in Venezuela and Bar ...

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American jazz fusion pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as " I'll B ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

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, and the

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

Monday Night Orchestra. He also worked on jingles for commercials. His debut album was released in 1987 by Gaia/ Gramavision Records. Soon after, he was signed to GRP by

Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...

and Larry Rosen. In the 1980s he was a member of Members Only, a jazz ensemble which recorded for

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. Beginning in 1989, he recorded eight albums for GRP. He has recorded with The Rippingtons,

Chuck Loeb Charles Samuel "Chuck" Loeb (December 7, 1955 – July 31, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist and a member of the groups Steps Ahead, Metro and Fourplay. Early years and education Loeb was born in Nyack, New York, near New York City. At ...

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

, Tom Browne, the GRP All-Star Big Band and is featured on ''The Hang'', an album by Don Grusin that was nominated for a Grammy Award. In the late 1990s he signed with

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey–based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distr ...

Discography

* ''To Begin Again'' (1988) * ''Playing for Keeps'' (1989) * ''Nelson Rangell'' (1990) * ''In Every Moment'' (1992) * ''Truest Heart'' (1993) * ''Yes, Then Yes'' (1994) * ''Destiny'' (1995) * ''Turning Night into Day'' (1997) * ''Always'' (1999) * ''Far Away Day'' (2000) * ''Look Again'' (2003) * ''All I Hope for Christmas'' (2004) * ''My American Songbook Vol.1'' (2005) * ''Soul to Souls'' (2006) * ''Red'' (2015) * ''Blue'' (2015) * ''By Light'' (2019)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rangell, Nelson 1960 births American jazz flautists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists GRP Records artists Living people People from Castle Rock, Colorado Smooth jazz saxophonists The Rippingtons members 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Colorado 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians GRP All-Star Big Band members Members Only (band) members 21st-century American flautists