2013 winner of the Outstanding Millennial Award for Music presented by Offbeat Magazine, Troy Sawyer is an accomplished trumpeter, composer and educator from New Orleans. Sawyer is continuing the legacy of his great grandfather, Louis James, who played strings in various bands with Louis Armstrong and co-wrote songs with Buddy Bolden.

After picking up the violin at 4, he gravitated to the trumpet at 9 and has now traveled extensively, performing at festivals and clubs around the globe. Sawyer holds a BA in Music Education from Southern University and has taught music in the charter school system for the past four years.

Sawyer resided in the Musician’s Village, where he says, “I approach the trumpet like a saxophone player, meaning that I play complex musical ideas that are difficult to play on the trumpet, but are easier to play on a sax. When I play, every note has a meaning and color.”