Saxophonist Elias Haslanger plays and writes modern jazz rooted in the tradition.
Elias is a dynamic, young jazz
saxophone player and composer who has played with
artists Ellis Marsalis, Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry
Connick, Jr., Martin Banks, Wynton Marsalis, Chucho Valdes, Roy
Hargrove, Wes Anderson, Lew Soloff, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Russell
Malone, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Jesse Davis, Steve Turre, Al Grey, Peter
Martin, Donald Edwards, Allen Farnham, Roland Guerin, Fred Sanders,
Edwin Livingston, JJ Johnson, Kirk Whalum, Thomas Heflin, Ron
Westray, Peter Stoltzman, The
Temptations, The Four Tops, Joe LoCasio, Tony Campise, Asleep at the
Wheel, Mitch Watkins, Bob Meyer, Jae Sinnett, Marvin Stamm, James
Polk, and countless others. Elias has opened for the legendary McCoy
Tyner and jazz greats Kenny Garrett and Terence Blanchard.
Elias has performed around the United States and Europe at clubs like
Snug Harbor in New Orleans, Jazz Alley in Seattle, The Elephant in
Austin, and The Blue Note in New York. He has also acted as a guest
artist/lecturer at universities around the nation. Mentored by the
legendary saxophonists Harvey Pittel and Dick Oatts, Elias began to
explore the instrument's vast potential by studying saxophone at the
University of Texas and then at the Manhattan School of Music. His
interest in writing music culminated in a Master's Degree in Composition
at Southwest Texas State University. In 1997, Elias was awarded the
Jazz Instrumental Soloist College Outstanding Performance for the 20th
Annual Downbeat Student Music Awards and in 1998, Elias was
awarded the Mitte Scholarship from SWTSU for academic achievement.
Elias taught theory, saxophone and composition at SWTSU in San
Marcos for a year before moving to New York. After 4 years in Brooklyn,
Elias returned to Austin where he pursues his dream of playing music.
Elias has recorded 4 critically acclaimed CD's; Standards, For the
Moment, Kicks are For Kids, and Dream Story all of which have been
played on radio stations around the world. Elias' playing has drawn
comparisons to John Coltrane, Ben Webster, and Sonny Rollins.
Elias' 3rd CD “Kicks are for Kids”, which features Ellis Marsalis, reached
#4 on Gavin Jazz charts with 180 radio stations around the country
playing it. “For the Moment” received substantial national airplay,
reaching #11 on the Gavin Jazz charts and #14 on the Jazziz
Radioactive chart. Elias was voted Best Horn player at the 1997 Austin
Music Awards and Best Jazz Group at the 2000 Austin Music Awards.
”Kicks are for Kids” was voted as one of the top five jazz records of the
year by Rick Mitchell of the Houston Chronicle, while the Austin
Chronicle's writers Jay Tractenburg and Christopher Hess voted it as the
#1 and #3 best record of all Austin Artists. Downbeat magazine writer
Michael Point voted “Kicks are for Kids” as one of the top ten best CD's
to come out of Austin in the 90's. Elias has been featured in many
national publications including Billboard, JazzTimes, Cadence, Texas
Monthly, and JazzIs.
Elias' latest CD “Dream Story”, just released, is already receiving
national radio play and drawing critical acclaim from writers, musicians
and critics alike.
“Simply put, Haslanger is a major talent who could find his way into the
upper echelons of jazz with a judicious marketing push and smaller gaps
between recordings.”
-Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz.com
