About

Born and raised in Oakland, California, saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee embodies a striking mix of sounds deriving from improvised, vocal, blues, and jazz traditions. A graduate of The New School's Jazz and Contemporary Music program, Nathan has studied with luminaries such as Melissa Aldana, Darius Jones, Tivon Pennicot, David Glasser, Or Bareket, Jon Irabagon, Anat Cohen, Joshua Rubin, and Ismail Lumanovski. Nathan has taught at Oakland Summer Music, Oakland Public Conservatory, Claremont Middle School, and The Harmony Program in NYC, providing music education at no cost to students. 

As a performer, Nathan has appeared alongside generational artists such as Billy Martin, Faye Carol, Azure McCall, Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson, and Lesley Mok. He has performed internationally in Tokyo, and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, in the Bay Area at Yoshi's Oakland, and The Soundroom, and NYC at Dizzy’s Jazz Club, The Stone, and Le Poisson Rouge. A big supporter of community organizing, Nathan hosts eclectic house shows and Improv Nights, and continues to compose, improvise, and perform in New York City and the Bay Area.