Ryan Townsend

Ryan Townsend is a working pianist and brass instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. A third generation musician, Ryan began playing French horn at age 11 and piano at age 15 as a church musician. After working in freelance performance and education, he moved to Austin to pursue a degree in jazz piano from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas.

Since moving to Austin he has performed at local staples such as the Elephant Room, Parker Jazz Club and Monk’s, playing alongside renowned local and traveling talent including Solomon Jaye, Diego Rivera, and Andre Hayward among others. As a band leader, he fronts “The N:OW Project,” an experimental jazz fusion quintet. Other projects include annual performances of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” 2026 tribute show “Shades of Bill Evans,” and 2023 recording “The Riverside Five: Live at Jazz TX.”

Ryan currently performs regularly with the Dirty River Jazz Band, UT Jazz Orchestra, and with his trio as a house musician at Nica on 4th.

Gear

Keyboard: Yamaha "CP 73"

Trumpet: Bell "BTPro"

Flugelhorn: Jean Paul "FH-430"

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