Sam Newsome, born on April 28, 1965, is an American saxophonist and composer. He began playing alto saxophone at age nine and switched to tenor by his teen years. After studying Jazz Composition & Arranging at the Berklee College of Music from 1983 to 1987, Newsome toured Europe with trumpeter Donald Byrd in 1988. He settled in New York City that fall and performed with Terence Blanchard's quintet from 1989 to 1994. His debut album as a leader, Sam I Am, was released in 1990. Newsome founded Motivic Development in 1995, then rebranded it Sam Newsome & Global Unity, which released their self-titled album in 1999. He shifted to solo saxophone performance in the mid-to-late 2000s, releasing Monk Abstractions (2007), and continued through various albums, including Chaos Theory: Song Cycles for Prepared Saxophone (2019).
