Eli Asher

Equally at home in a variety of styles from the traditional to the avant-garde, for almost twenty years trumpeter Eli Asher has found most constant expression in The Respect Sextet, seamlessly blending the music of innumerable idioms and conceptual approaches with unscripted improvisation, experimentation, and unbridled hilarity. He has also performed with the Bjorkestra, Bang on a Can’s Asphalt Orchestra, Tilt Brass, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, The Gregory Brothers, Signal Ensemble, Slavic Soul Party!, and Jose Gonzalez, in venues ranging from the Blue Note in New York City to the Montreal Jazz Festival, to the Teatro Manzoni in Milan, and for audiences from zero to 30,000.

Eli has been featured twice (2009 and 2016) at the yearly Festival of New Trumpet founded by trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas, has been a Bang on a Can Summer Fellow (2007), and provided technical assistance for electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick’s “World of
Music” educational software for children.

Currently, he can be heard with Patrick Brennan’s Transparency Kestra, the Open Tabs, The Eli Asher/Aaron Shragge Duo, Jump Off This Bridge, and Max Kutner’s Trio Generale, as well as on over 25 recordings. His performing and production work on Whit Williams’ “Now’s The Time” recording helped earn it a 5-star rating from Down Beat magazine. A graduate of Princeton University and The Eastman School of Music, Eli serves on the faculty of the Harlem School of the Arts and the Bloomingdale School of Music.