Jelani Akil Bauman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his musical journey at the age of 13 when he began playing the trumpet. Mr. Bauman’s comes from a long lineage of jazz musicians that spans five generations: His great-great grandfather, Professor J.B. Humphrey, taught music and established brass bands in southeast Louisiana as early as 1880. Mr. Bauman’s grandfather, the renowned trumpeter, Emery Humphrey Thompson (Umar Sharif) performed with such musicians as Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, and Ella Fitzgerald. Mr. Bauman’s musical training began in New Orleans under the instruction of Ronald Benko, trumpeter with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Benko is known for coaching such musical giants as Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton.

Mr. Bauman’s enriched training and passion led him to being accepted into the one of the country’s top performing arts high schools, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), which is known for developing some of the world’s top musicians, such as Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, and Terence Blanchard. At NOCCA, Jelani studied with legendary jazz educator Alvin Batiste.

After attending NOCCA, Jelani attended Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York and later received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating with a B.S. in Professional Music in May 2011. In May of 2013, Mr. Bauman received his Master's of Music in Jazz Studies from

Michigan State University under the direction of world renowned bassist, Rodney Whitaker.

 

In January of 2011, Jelani performed for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts with his Quartet in a musical performance that presented traditional jazz works and featured an original jazz composition inspired by "Fresh Ink: Ten Takes on Chinese Tradition." Jelani has also performed with his Uncle Jamil Sharif at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as well as performed at various venues in New York City, such as the Jazz Standard, and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. In 2009, Jelani was a NFAA (National Foundation in the Advancements for the Arts) Regional Award Winner for Jazz Trumpet in the State of New York. Jelani has also performed at the Domaine Forget Jazz Festival in St. Irene, Quebec, Canada and the Detroit International Jazz Festival. In Spring 2011 he traveled to Italy with the Berklee Global Jazz Institute under the direction of pianist, Danilo Perez and in May 2013, he will be heading to the Banff Centre Jazz Workshop in Banff, Alberta, Canada to work with such people as Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Ambrose Akinmusire, Greg Osby and Ravi Coltrane.

 

In 2016 performed Mr. Bauman performed at Madison Square Garden for the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards with pop star Rihanna. In 2014, Jelani performed with his own group in Mercedes, Uruguay at the Jazz A La Calle Music Festival. Mr. Bauman recently brought his talents to the Middle East where he completed a residency at the St. Regis Hotel in Doha, Qatar. Mr.

Bauman, has performed with Rihanna, Ravi Coltrane, Ellis Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Robin Eubanks, and many others.