Saxophonist P. Manzell Bledsoe

P. Manzell Bledsoe discovered and fell in love with music at an early age. Growing up in
Las Vegas, Nevada, his earliest childhood memories were scored to a soundtrack of jazz, rhythm
and blues, and soul music. Bledsoe began playing the saxophone around age eleven, inspired by
his uncle, a self-taught saxophonist.

Hard work and countless hours of study paid off. Before the age of twenty-one, Bledsoe
had established himself as a young professional playing on stages across the United States and
over six countries in Europe. Manzell received a degree in Jazz Studies/Performance from the
prestigious University of North Texas jazz program in 2012, whose jazz program was famed for
being the first to offer a degree in 1947. During his formative years at college, he was a member
of the popular Denton Texas based Hip-Hop Fusion band, The BoomBachs where he was showcased in
numerous magazines, newspapers, websites, and blogs around the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex.
The band received a nomination for the Dallas Observer Music Awards in 2014 and 2015 and
released several projects.

Looking to expand his musical horizons, Manzell relocated to Tampa, Florida in 2015
where he has performed at popular Tampa Bay Area venues such as Straz Center for The
Performing Arts, the Palladium, the Hard Rock Casino, and (email hidden)

Manzell possesses a flare in his performance that draws and encapsulates his audiences to his sound. This talent enabled him the opportunity to open for national recording artists like Mindi Abair, Thundercat, and Devin The Dude.

When off stage, Bledsoe also contributes to the educational growth of the community by
teaching, tutoring, and performing. Manzell completed an interview in the May 2021 edition of Voyage Tampa. As a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc, Manzell had the honor of playing for the National Founders Day celebration in 2019 and was invited back to perform for the Conclave in 2023, a national event with over 5,000 attendees.

In 2022, Bledsoe began organizing community “sax hangs.” Think of it as a saxophone society where people of all ages come together to learn, play and cultivate their love for the saxophone and its rich history.