Nathaniel Williford

Nathaniel Williford is a trumpeter, arranger, and composer based in New York City who specializes in big-band and lead trumpet playing. Raised in Kissimmee, Florida, he studied jazz trumpet at The Juilliard School under mentors including Dan Miller and Tatum Greenblatt. With his high school ensemble he took first place at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition in 2022 and 2023, and he served as lead trumpet in Carnegie Hall's NYO Jazz under Sean Jones, touring North America in 2022 and Europe in 2023. On the New York scene he has performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Roy Hargrove Big Band, and the Helen Sung Big Band.