J.Q. is a trumpeter, composer and teaching artist based in New York City. Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, J.Q. started playing professionally as a teenager. He graduated with a B.M. in Jazz Performance and a B.A. in Chinese Language from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music and earned his Master of Music from The Juilliard School in 2017. 

 

J.Q. enjoys playing in a number of styles and contexts, including electronic music, acid jazz, salsa, flamenco, funk, reggae, and Afro-Cuban and has shared stages with such world-class performers as DeeDee Bridgewater, Filo Machado, Sinne Eeg, Sergio Brandao, Robin Eubanks, and Clark Terry. J.Q. was a featured guest artist with internationally-acclaimed Danish jazz artists Sinne Eeg and Martin Schack quartet on a tour in Denmark in 2007. He also performed at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in the summers of 2008 and 2011, as well as the 2011 Ribe Jazz Festival. 

 

J.Q. lived in Shanghai, China from 2003 to 2010 where he was frequently highlighted in local and national press, including features on Shanghai Television and local newspaper Shanghai Daily, as well as in Shanghai’s English language magazines (Shanghai Talk, That’s Shanghai, 8 Days/SH, City Weekend, Metrozine) for performances in and around the city. J.Q.’s quintet Five Below performed at Shanghai’s most popular jazz venues, as well as touring to a number of other Chinese cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Chongqing. J.Q.’s second album as a bandleader, Tales of Enchantment (2014), features J.Q.’s quintet Five Below in a new instrumentation playing all original arrangements. In addition to his accomplishments as a performer, J.Q. co-founded the JZ School, a progressive learning institute which opened in the fall of 2006 and specializes in all aspects of jazz music and musical expression. From 2007 to 2010, he also played a key role of music director at Soulfire, a startup in the Chinese radio broadcasting world that helped bring more jazz and other international music to Chinese radio audiences.

 

J.Q. has over 15 years of teaching experience teaching both private lessons as well as ensembles. He enjoys building a personal rapport with his students and taking a genuine interest in their musical interests in order to help build their excitement about music and encourage them to learn to play the styles of music they enjoy listening to. 

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