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Dave Sterner

Saxophonist Dave Sterner is a traditional jazz musician with a bent for mixing swing, funk and the blues into his sound.

About Me

Saxophonist Dave Sterner is a traditional jazz musician with a bent for mixing swing, funk and the blues into his sound. Spending his entire career in the Mid-West, Sterner earned his degree in music from Indiana University and early on played with funk and R&B bands. Returning to his home town of Cleveland, he has performed with Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr., The Manhattan Transfer, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, The Jazz Heritage Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All-star Big Band to name a few. In addition to teaching for the Cuyahoga Community College jazz program, Mr. Sterner conducts the Lakeland Community College Civic Jazz Orchestra and co-directs the Lakeland Jazz Festival. Sterner appears on three cds with Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Band (Koch Label), the N. Glenn Davis Quartet (Jazzed Media, 2008) and the N. Glenn Davis Quintet, featuring Phil Woods (Jazzed Media, 2009).

The Dave Sterner Quintet came together in the spring of 2003 and performs a wide range of musical styles. On their debut CD, “What’s What”, the group is heard composing its own original music and reinterpreting classic charts in a more modern style. In 2007, the group received “The Best Jazz Band” music award from the Cleveland FREE TIMES Magazine. The quintet consists of an alto and tenor saxophone on the front line, and a traditional piano, bass, and drum rhythm section. Sidetracked (Speak Jazz Records, 2011) is the group’s second quintet release featuring all original material inspired by the traditions of Cannonball Adderley and Horace Silver mixed with the modern leanings of Joshua Redman and John Ellis. Sterner is joined on this recording and concert by veteran drummer Paul Samuels (Greg Osby), bassist Glenn Holmes (Bill Ransom), pianist Roger Friedman (Eddie Henderson, Greg Bandy) and tenor saxophonist Chris Burge (Up Ensemble, Jazz Heritage Orchestra).