Biography
Dontae Winslow has built a thriving career as a trumpeter, producer, arranger, and educator, commanding steady demand as a session musician whose training spans classical, jazz, and modern R&B. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he grew up in the challenging Coppins Heights area yet channeled his energies into music, taking up the trumpet at twelve and later enrolling at the Baltimore School for the Arts alongside future rapper Tupac Shakur and actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Following graduation he relocated to New York City, studied at the New School under the guidance of trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and ultimately completed a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Music Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University before earning a Master’s in European Classical Music Performance.
In 1997 Winslow reached the semifinals of the Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition, and the following year he issued his first solo recording, Ballads. Stage and studio work soon accumulated with figures such as Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Clark Terry, and the Roots, while his dual strengths as instrumentalist and arranger opened doors to tours and sessions with Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Gary Bartz, and numerous others across genres. Motivated by his own early experiences, he champions music education for young people; that focus shaped his second album, Change a Life...Change the World, which earned the Grand Prize in Children’s Music at the 2002 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for the track “I Love School.”
Away from other artists’ projects, Winslow regularly appears with his vocalist wife Mashica in their ensemble Winslow Dynasty. The pair debuted with Life Album in 2012 and followed it two years later with Enter the Dynasty.
In 1997 Winslow reached the semifinals of the Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition, and the following year he issued his first solo recording, Ballads. Stage and studio work soon accumulated with figures such as Wynton Marsalis, Milt Jackson, Clark Terry, and the Roots, while his dual strengths as instrumentalist and arranger opened doors to tours and sessions with Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Gary Bartz, and numerous others across genres. Motivated by his own early experiences, he champions music education for young people; that focus shaped his second album, Change a Life...Change the World, which earned the Grand Prize in Children’s Music at the 2002 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for the track “I Love School.”
Away from other artists’ projects, Winslow regularly appears with his vocalist wife Mashica in their ensemble Winslow Dynasty. The pair debuted with Life Album in 2012 and followed it two years later with Enter the Dynasty.
Albums
Singles
