Haneef N. Nelson works as a Composer/Arranger, Bandleader, Sideman, Musical Curator, and Educator based out of Hartford, CT. He was introduced to the trumpet at age 12 and has stuck with it ever since. His earliest education in Jazz came from the Jazzmobile where he studied with Eddie Preston, Cecil Bridgewater, and Donald Byrd among others. He also studied with Dave Burns at the Long Island High School of the Arts and then attended The Hartt School to study with Jackie McLean, Raymond Williams, Steve Davis and Nat Reeves as well as other faculty. 

His passion for the music also brought him to the classroom to teach the cultural significance of the music known as Jazz. He has taught at The Hartt School, UMASS Amherst, Amherst College, Keene State College and currently teaches at the University of Rhode Island. In addition to his own groups, he is a long-standing member of several other bands in multiple genres. He has also had the honor of sharing the stage with the likes of Rene McLean, Bill Saxton, Jimmy Owens, Donald Byrd, William Cepeda, Wilson “Chembo” Corniel, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Yoron Israel, Avery Sharpe, Winard Harper, Frank Lacy, Bill Lowe, Chico Freeman, Helen Sung, Wayne Escoffrey, Kris Allen, Abraham Burton, E.J. Strickland, Brandee Younger, Dezron Douglas, David Bryant, Stacey Dillard, Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis, Ray McMorrin, Josh Evans, Doobie Powell, Billy “Church Boy” Powell, Kevin Powell, Ace Livingstone, and Musiq Soulchild among many others.