Jazz
United States
Ryan Porter
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About Ryan Porter
Los Angeles trombonist Ryan Porter was a gifted, highly sought-after performer, as well as one of the co-founders of the lauded jazz, hip-hop, and funk collective West Coast Get Down. Born in Los Angeles in 1979, Porter first became interested in jazz and playing the trombone around age ten. By high school, he was taking private lessons and playing in the marching band as well as a local multi-school competitive jazz ensemble alongside future WCGD bandmate saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Also during his teens, he met legendary drummer Billy Higgins, who encouraged him and invited him to attend his well-known jazz workshops and jam sessions. Porter excelled quickly, and by the time he left high school he had earned enough scholarship money to attend New York's Manhattan School of Music. While there, he studied with bass trombonist David Taylor as well as veteran jazz trombonist and Saturday Night Live Band alum Steve Turre.
Upon graduating in 2001 he returned to Los Angeles, where he quickly found work touring and recording with a bevy of luminaries including Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Kanye West, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Nick Cave, and many more. He also appeared regularly on TV as a member of the American Idol and The Voice house bands. It was also after returning to Los Angeles that he helped form the genre-bending jazz collective West Coast Get Down along with saxophonist Washington, bassist Miles Moseley, pianist Cameron Graves, and others. In 2017 he featured his WCGD bandmates on his debut album, Spangle Lang-Lane, which found him reworking classic children's nursery rhymes in expansive jazz, soul, and R&B-infused arrangements. Porter died on May, 16, 2026 at the age of 46. ~ Matt Collar
Ryan Porter has also released music as a member of West Coast Get Down.
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