Ryan Anselmi is a Saxophonist, Educator and ARC Recording Artist known for his soulful approach to improvisation and deep respect for Jazz, Blues and American roots music. With a career spanning multiple genres, Anselmi’s versatility has also led him to work with The Temptations, The Coasters, Atomic Funk Project, José James, Craig Owens and the Bodo Ensemble, Singer/Songwriter Jon Foose, The Gold Magnolias, Dave Wilson & The Summer Husbands and College Radio.
His lifelong pursuit of studying and performing this music began at an early age, in Paola, KS studying with Charles Kessinger and being supported by his band director, David Hodges. From there he began to playing with the Twin Rivers Dixieland Jazz Band from Osawatomie, KS around the Kansas City area. This early exposure laid the foundation for a career dedicated to both honoring tradition and pushing musical boundaries. Anselmi’s dedication to Jazz was cemented through a long-standing residency at The Garage on 7th Avenue South in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where he honed his distinctive voice as both a player and bandleader leading his quintet on a weekly basis as part of their musical lineup.
Anselmi has toured nationally performing on stages like stages like Rockwood Music Hall, Brooklyn Bowl, Mondo Music Festival and the Heritage Music BluesFest. Internationally, he has been on stages in London, Paris, Amsterdam with a notably week long stretch with the legendary Blues and Jazz pianist Junior Mance at Marian’s in Bern, Switzerland. This tour included an unforgettable experience standing alongside on stage with the great James Moody. Something that Anselmi carry’s with him every time he performs regardless of they type of music he is playing.
Anselmi is on two albums with the Jr. Mance Quintet under JunGlo Records. Both records were recorded in the West Village, live at Café Loup: “Out South” (2010) and “Letter From Home” (2011). Around this same time Anselmi wrote and recorded horns for rising star and Pop/Jazz Vocalist Jose James on his Brownswood Recording label release “Black Magic” (2010). You can hear him as a core member of The Gold Magnolias, “The Gold Magnolias” (2011), “Sail on Glamdog” (2015) and “Ready to Run” (2020). Most recent recordings include Dave Wilson and the Summer Husbands “Only Reward” (2022), ” Dave Wilson & The Summer Husbands” (2021) and “A City, A Marriage” (2021) where you can really hear him stretch out on the tail of the track “Garden State”.
Beyond performance, Anselmi is deeply committed to music education, striving to inspire and mentor the next generation of musicians. His expressive playing and compositional sensibilities bridge tradition and innovation, bringing fresh perspectives to both jazz and beyond. Ryan currently teaches privately in the NJ & NYC area.
Ryan owes so much of his passion for music to his mentors and the friendships on and off the band. From Paola,KS: Cassy Wright, Hwan Health, Band Director David Hodges, Band Director David Wiggins, his Private Lesson Instructor Charles Kessinger. Who brought him to Twin Rivers Jazz band rehearsals and helped Ryan really understand what it meant to study and grow your passion for music. Everyone from the Twin Rivers Jazz band,
From Wichita,KS: Tom Fowler, Mark Foley, Craig Owens, JC Combs, Jean Langsing, Rod Martins, Sterling Grey, Pat McJimsey, Rudy Love, the entire Source band, The Air Capitol Big Band, The Aiken Brothers, everyone from Colossal, David Lord, From NYC: Jr. Mance, Allison Miller, Tim Price, Dave Glasser, Dan Greenblatt, Chico Hamilton, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, David Schnitter, Cecil Bridgewater, Jimmy Owens, Chris Hoffman, Hide Tanaka, Andrew Hadro, Tom Abbott, Chris Langelotti, Alexi David, Ben Markley, everyone from the Famous Geniuses, Tim Ribner, Dave Marks, Bob Lanzetti, Dominica Fosatti, Curt & Kim Garey, Matt Wilson, Arron Shragg, Ryan Blum-K, John Lake, Steve Davis, Eric James, John Shiffman, Jack Broad, Ben Hinckle, Daniel Blankenship, Sam Hoyt, Rich Poletchek, David Caldwell Mason, Dr. Darrell Smith, Joe Bussey, Daniel Foose, Hudson Mueller, Even Felts, Jeff Barton, Whitney Lockert, Damon Grant, Quinn McCarthy, Bryan Benninghove, Ted Chubb, Brianne Ford, Sean Kiely, Chris Landry, Dave Wilson and too many more to list here.
You can catch Ryan performing with his group RA & Co or see him around the NYC area playing with various groups spanning multiple genres and styles.
As DownBeat Magazine’s Bob Doerschuk noted, “Anselmi blows with subtle tonal shadings that reveal the player’s grace and insight into the composition.”
