Andre Canniere is an acclaimed trumpet player, composer and educator currently based in London. Originally from rural Pennsylvania (USA), Canniere spent the first five years of his career in New York City where he worked with artists such as Maria Schneider, Becca Stevens, Donny McCaslin, Kate McGarry, Ingrid Jensen and Darcy James Argue. He has toured widely throughout the United States and Europe with performances at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Barbican, Birdland, the London Jazz Festival, The Hague Jazz Festival and the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

Since his arrival in the UK, Canniere’s profile has been steadily rising, both as a solo artist and a collaborator. In 2012 Canniere released his critically acclaimed debut Forward Space on Whirlwind Recordings (“the new label of the moment” – BBC Radio 2) which Jazzwise Magazine hailed as “one of the best recordings in a long time” and listed as one of their ‘Best Albums of 2012’. The following year Canniere released Coalescence, his second Whirlwind album which was equally lauded by the press and firmly established Canniere as “one of the most compelling artists on the current London jazz scene” (The Scotsman).

In 2016, Canniere released his third album The Darkening Blue on Whirlwind featuring the “imposingly original” (Guardian) saxophonist Tori Freestone, pianist Ivo Neame (of Phronesis fame), “virtuostic and emphatic” (Guardian) bassist Michael Janisch, US drummer Ted Poor (Bill Frisell, Cuong Vu, Ben Monder) and the “subtlety and precision” (Guardian) of guest vocalist Brigitte Beraha.

As a composer, Canniere has been described as an “imaginative newcomer” whose music is “audaciously crafted” and “shows glimpses of an unusual fluency and freedom within the context of a dense and rhythmically intricate contemporary-jazz sound” (Guardian). Jazzwise Magazine states that “Canniere’s compositions contrast breezy folky jazz elements with a darker harmonic language that draws from Radiohead and a rawer rock-ish groove-based approach straight out of the New York alt jazz scene”. Canniere’s music has been played on radio stations across the world including BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3 (UK), RTE Lyric fm (Ireland), Radio Cardiff (Wales) and Radio Bremen (Germany).

In addition to his work as a bandleader and composer, Canniere maintains an active career as a sideman and session musician. He holds the trumpet chair in several London based bands including Henrik Jensen’s Followed By Thirteen, Dee Byrne’s Entropi and the Overground Collective and has collaborated with many of the UK’s most celebrated jazz musicians including Michael Janisch, Jasper Hoiby, Ivo Neame, Jim Hart, James Maddren, Alex Garnett and Alice Zawadzki. Canniere is equally at home outside the usual jazz circuit, having appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and with well-known acts such as Augustines and Stooshe.

Canniere is highly passionate about music education and has led workshops and masterclasses at universities and schools throughout the United States and Europe. Andre is currently the Head of Jazz at the Highgate School and teaches jazz at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music in London.