Sam Pilnick is a Chicago-based saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music educator. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Jazz Studies from the Crane School of Music and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from Western Michigan University. His teachers have included Christopher Creviston, Robert Young, Bret Zvacek, Marsha Baxter, Andrew Rathbun, Jeremy Siskind, Scott Cowan, Keith Hall, and Edward Simon.

Throughout his studies, Sam performed with a wide range of ensembles, including the Crane Jazz Ensemble, Crane Latin Ensemble, Crane Concert Band, and Crane New Music Ensemble. At Western Michigan University, he focused his graduate studies on jazz improvisation, composition, and history. He was a member of the Western Jazz Orchestra and the Advanced Jazz Ensemble, contributing original compositions and arrangements for the group’s 2016 Environment Project and their 2015 concert with Randy Brecker. While at WMU, Sam also performed alongside artists such as Edward Simon, Miguel Zenón, Lucas Pino, Terell Stafford, Deborah Brown, Mas Que Nada, and Gold Company.

As an educator, Sam is certified to teach K–12 music in both New York and Illinois. He has worked in a variety of academic settings across the Chicagoland area and currently serves as the band director at Thornridge High School, where he has revitalized the program and led students to earn recognition and success.

As a performer and composer, Sam moves fluidly through jazz, contemporary, electronic, and experimental styles. He leads The Sam Pilnick Project, which released three EPs: East Coast Transplant (2017), Pure Imagination (2018), and Skylark (2019). His newest ensemble, Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project, reflects his deep love for large ensemble jazz, small group interplay, and creative sonic exploration. Their debut album The Adler Suite (2021) received both national and international acclaim, and their follow-up album The Project is set for release in 2025.

In addition to his own work, Sam is an active freelance musician in Chicago and a regular performer with John Dorhauer’s Heisenberg Uncertainty Players and Devin Fanslow’s Bathawk.