About

Musician · Composer · Arranger · Bandleader

Akili Bradley is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader based in New York City. A native of Seaside, California, her sound is a dynamic blend of deep jazz tradition and bold, contemporary innovation. She has performed at some of the most iconic venues, including The Village Vanguard, Dizzy’s Club, Smalls Jazz Club, and The Jazz Gallery, and has worked with artists such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jason Moran, Dezron Douglas, Johnathan Blake, Steve Wilson, and Stacy Dillard.

Akili began playing trumpet at age nine.  Her early training includes notable programs such as SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, the Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, and YoungArts, performing in cities across the U.S. and Japan.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music (B.M. in Performance, 2022), Bradley earned a full scholarship through the prestigious Aspire: Women’s Performance Program (2018), where she was the sole trumpet player chosen for the program.  While at Berklee, she studied under Jason Palmer, Tiger Okoshi, Billy Kilson, Ralph Peterson, Tia Fuller, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Ron Savage, and represented the institution in performances with the Downbeat award winning Ralph Peterson Big Band, NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, and at international events including a performance and teaching residency in Siberia.

As a sideman, Akili has performed with the Brian Bromberg Band at the Bay Area staples Yoshi’s Oakland and Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz and with the Gary Meek Quintet throughout the Monterey, CA and Santa Cruz, CA areas.  In 2021, Akili appeared at the 2021 Detroit Jazz Festival as an establishing member of the Dee Dee Bridgewater Big Band (DDBBB) and performed with the Band at the Kennedy Center in 2023.  In 2024, she joined Jason Moran and the Bandwagon to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the legendary Village Vanguard.  Akili returned to the West Coast in 2025 to join the Wilfie Williams Quartet at the Black Cat in San Francisco.

In 2025, Akili joined Jason Moran and the Bandwagon on the Main Stage at the 2025 Detroit Jazz Festival, where she appeared as a featured artist alongside Meshell Ndegeocello.

As a bandleader, Akili presents original music rooted in storytelling, groove, and melodic clarity. She led her own group at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2018 and continues to perform regularly across NYC, including appearances at The Django and Café Bohemia. Most recently, she was featured in the 2025 Duck Creek Arts Center Summer Music Series, performing a full set of original compositions.

Described as an “emerging musician” by Bradley Zeve of Monterey County Weekly, and as “on [her] way to becoming a jazz staple” and “a young musician to keep abreast of” by Ron Scott of New York Amsterdam News, Akili is making a steady and impactful mark on the New York jazz scene.