Akinmusire was born and raised in Oakland, California. Before he was eighteen, Ambrose had already performed with such famed musicians as saxophonists Joe Henderson, Joshua Redman, Steve Coleman, and drummer Billy Higgins. After graduating from Berkeley High School in 2000, he moved to New York to begin a full scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Vincent Pinzerella from the New York Philharmonic, Dick Oatts, Lew Soloff, and Laurie Frink,[1] and obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in 2005.