Ryan Porter, beloved L.A. jazz trombonist and Kendrick Lamar collaborator, dies at 46

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Ryan Porter, the acclaimed trombonist and fixture of the West Coast Get Down jazz ensemble, has died.He was 46.

Porter died Saturday from injuries sustained in a “severe” car crash on April 28, Porter’s bandmate Tony Austin wrote on Instagram.“Despite the best medical care, his condition deteriorated,” Austin wrote, noting that Porter “took his last breath, peacefully surrounded by his loved ones.” Porter was a pivotal figure in contemporary Los Angeles jazz, beginning with his studies under legendary educator Reggie Andrews in the Multi-School Jazz Band in Watts.

Porter formed close friendships and musical connections with saxophonist Kamasi Washington, multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, bassist Thundercat and the key players that would later form the West Coast Get Down.“When it comes to keeping the lineage of jazz in L.A.

alive, there have been people who were selfless and sacrificed a lot,” Porter told The Times in 2024.“For me back then, it was hard to understand why they cared so much.

But it was because they saw potential in all of us so early, so we could see it for ourselves.” Music L.A.jazz reeled when Highland Park’s ETA closed.

There’s still great music, but clubs are nervous.That group cultivated a following at Leimert Park’s beloved venue the World Stage.They would go on to craft dense, experimental and spiritually yearning compositions for Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 LP “To Pimp a Butterfly,” among countless other LPs in the L.A.

jazz scene, including Washington’s 2015 breakthrough “The Epic.”Porter released four solo albums in his career — 2018’s “The Optimist,” 2019’s “Force for Good,” and 2022’s “Resilience,” along with his 2017 children’s album “Spangle-Lang Lane” — each featuring arrangements from his lifelong bandmates.In 2024, he released a documentary film, “Resilience,” focused on ...