Edmund Velasco is a native Southern Californian that has been recognized as one of the top saxophonists in the area.
Since the early age of 8, Edmund knew that playing saxophone was what he wanted to do. When he was finally old enough to play a saxophone at age 10, he knew that this would be his life's work.
Edmund can be seen as a featured soloist with The Estrada Brothers Latin Jazz Ensemble and has recorded with the group. He is a member of the Chris Williams Quintet and has made many guest appearances with Dan Fanley, Joe LaBarbera, Tony Dumas and Ron Escheté, among others. Edmund has performed multiple times at the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.
Edmund also has performed at many important Southern California venues, including The Jazz Bakery in Culver City, Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe in Fullerton and Catalina Bar & Grill in Los Angeles. He has performed for arts and music festivals throughout California, including the Day of Music in Long Beach and the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. He has traveled to Portugal to perform at the Manoshinos Festival and the Funchal Jazz Festival.
Edmund has played professionally for over twenty years with such top names as Mel Tormé, Eddie Daniels and Ernie Andrews, to name a few. He was named the Top Tenor Sax Artist in Orange County in 1998 and 1999 by Orange County Weekly.
Edmund leads, directs and writes for his own quintet. He has produced multiple CDs for the group, including Alligator Rhythm on the Sub Rosa label (1996), The Blues in Me (2000) and Smoke Rises (2004). These three recordings received very favorable reviews in the press, and The Blues in Me was nominated for Jazz Recording of the Year by the Los Angeles Music Awards. In April 2004, Bob Agnew wrote about Smoke Rises in LA Jazz Scene: "Generating new waves in modern mainstream jazz, the Edmund Velasco Quintet drives forward with energy and a positive outlook. Swinging from start to finish, they turn each session into a festival." Sign of Our Times was released in February 2014 on LA Sound and features an all-star lineup, including Kye Palmer, Tony Guerrero, Llew Matthews, Mark Massey, Steve Venz, Ernie Nunez, Jimmy Ford, Chris Williams and most proudly his son, Julian Velasco.
Edmund has served on the Executive Board for the Orange County Musicians' Association (Local 7, American Federation of Musicians) since 2003 and was elected Vice President in 2016.
Edmund is also involved with music education outreach programs. He is on the advisory board for SanArts, an arts conservatory at Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana, CA, and he has developed several concert series for the Orange County community as both an arts outreach and educational program for aspiring musicians.
