Altin Sencalar

Altin Sencalar is a California-born, Texas-raised, New York-based trombonist, composer, and educator whose voice in jazz is both personal and expansive. A Yamaha Performing Artist and Posi-Tone Records recording artist, Sencalar has toured and recorded with luminaries including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christian McBride, Rodney Whitaker, and Michael Bublé, as well as soul icons the Temptations and the Four Tops.

Deeply informed by his Mexican and Turkish heritage, Sencalar’s music merges contemporary jazz with folkloric roots, creating a sound that is at once grounded and globally resonant. His work has drawn praise from DownBeat, All About Jazz, and the International Trombone Association Journal, the latter citing his “crystal-clear articulations and impressive control of the wide possibilities of the instrument.”

Sencalar studied at Texas State University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he toured internationally with the UT Jazz Orchestra and studied under Andre Hayward. After winning multiple national trombone competitions, he was invited to Michigan State University by trombonist Michael Dease, later joining Dease’s studio as a teaching assistant and building a national profile.

His discography includes Introducing Altin Sencalar (2017), Realization (2020), Reconnected (2021), and Live at Monks Jazz EP (2022). After relocating to New York, he made his Posi-Tone debut with In Good Standing (2023), followed by Discover the Present (2024) and Unleashed (2025), which earned four stars in DownBeat for its emotional range and technical command.

Now in his early thirties, Sencalar is a first-time parent and a lifelong student of the craft. His forward motion is constant — whether composing, performing, or mentoring others. “Consistency, awareness, and intention,” he says. “That’s what I live my life by in everything that I do.”

"The El Fuego is based on what I believe allows me to play completely like myself; with fire! This mouthpiece is larger than a standard Pickett 6M. It involves the same 6M cup but with a bit more room in the rim size and back bore for players that perform many different genres and need to utilize an airflow that's not constricted just because they're playing a small bore horn.

The exact specs are a 5.5c size rim, with a 6M cup, and .272 throat. I play this mouthpiece on on my Yamaha 897Z w/ a .500 bore slide, my .525 Horn, and any other small bore trombone.

The El Fuego is centered around having a comfortable mouthpiece while having the ability to have an array of soft, loud, beautiful, and aggressive articulations/ tone. I feel this mouthpiece captures the efficient side of my playing as well as the versatility of being able to play lead in a big band, the dark fat sound of a small group, the aggressive playing in salsa music, and the gentleness of playing a ballad.

When I play my El Fuego mouthpiece I feel that the choices I make while playing are translating through the mouthpiece and thus through the horn! Thanks to the Pickett Team for allowing my dream mouthpiece to come true!" - Altin