Farnell Newton

Who is Farnell Newton?

Farnell Newton is a composer and trumpeter. He was born in Miami, Florida. He moved to Philadelphia in 1992, where he attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. While in Philadelphia, Newton also studied with his uncle, saxophonist/arranger Conny Murray and from his uncle Sunny Murray, who was one of the early avant garde's most inventive and influential drummers.

Newton graduated from the Denver School of the Arts after moving to Denver in 1994 and then moved to Ohio to study at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. At Oberlin, Newton studied music performance with an emphasis in jazz with Wendell Logan and trumpeter Kenny Davis. Newton performed with Aretha Franklin, James Moody, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Hugh Ragin while at Oberlin.

After graduating from Oberlin, Newton moved to Portland, Oregon, where he performed regularly with Billy Hart, Pete Krebs, Willy Vlautin, and Ricardo Lemvo.