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Don Aliquo
Steeped in Pittsburgh’s rich jazz tradition, saxophonist Don Aliquo grew up listening to and learning from jazz legends. Following in the footsteps of his father, a well-respected jazz artist himself, Don spent his formative years performing with many of the region’s greats including Joe Harris, Danny Conn Johnny Costa, David Budway, and Jeff Watts. His musical development continued at the Berklee College of Music, where he played in the International Dues Band directed by Phil Wilson. George Garzone, Joe Viola, Ed Tomasi and John La Porta were instrumental in his artistic growth at Berklee.
Don’s early professional career included tours as lead alto with the Tommy Dorsey Band directed by Buddy Morrow, and as a baritone saxophonist with the legendary drummer Buddy Rich. He also toured extensively with the East Coast R & B group, Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band, recording, writing horn arrangements, and performing as a soloist.
After these expanding and maturing experiences, Don’s career took two crucial turns. He began performing and recording with Roger Humphries, the legendary Horace Silver drummer, while furthering his musical development at Duquesne University.
Under the direction of master-composer John “Doc” Wilson, Don completed a master’s degree in performance summa cum laude, discovered a love for teaching as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and earned multiple honors and awards.
During his collaboration with Humphries, he composed the title cut for the recording, This and That, and performed on A New Home, a live CD recording produced by the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. Throughout those years, he played with many of Pittsburgh’s legendary artists such as Stanley Turrentine and George Benson.
Following his tenure with Roger Humphries’ band, Don continued to expand artistically and professionally, forming the Don Aliquo Quartet with bassist Dave LaRocca, drummer Greg Humphries, and guitarist Eric Susoeff. He recorded two critically acclaimed CDs, February Regrets and the Power of Two, as well developing an instrumental program at The Ellis School and teaching at Duquesne University.
Since 1999, Don has held a faculty position at Middle Tennessee State University near Nashville, Tennessee, where he formed a musical partnership with fellow jazz faculty and pianist Dana Landry and bassist Erik Applegate. They recorded a CD, Another Reply, with drummers Chris Brown and Jim White, which charted in the Top 20 jazz records during its initial release, garnering critical acclaim in Europe and North America.
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Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra: Tenor Madness
by Jack Bowers
Nashville-based composer, arranger and saxophonist Ryan Middagh salutes apostles of the mid-range wind instrument on Tenor Madness, his second recording as leader of the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra. Even so, there are no tenor solos after the first three of the album's half-dozen numbers, on which tenors Don Aliquo and Jeff Coffin ("Wiley Roots"), Aliquo again ("Waiter, Make Mine Blues"), Coffin and New York luminary Joel Frahm--who together galvanize the album's robust title song--are featured. While the ...
Continue ReadingDiane Marino: Romance In The Dark
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Romance in the Dark, from highly-versatile vocalist-pianist-arranger Diane Marino and a team of Nashville's top studio players, offers 10 entertaining selections. Comprised of covers of well-known standards and classic soul material (with a handful-plus being remixed and remastered from the vocalist's previously released recordings), it is a thoroughly enjoyable and, yes, romantic effort. “Out of This World" opens the session in a lush exotic atmosphere. Originally recorded by Jo Stafford and nearly a jazz standard, Marino dives ...
Continue ReadingJudith Owens, Earl Bostic & Don Aliquo
by Joe Dimino
From Nashville-based, Pittsburgh-bred saxophonist Don Aliquo, we kick off this new 793rd Episode of Neon Jazz with a song off his 2023 album Growth. From there, we listen to the artist who gave Don one of his most memorable performances when he was a lad in Arnie Lawrence. We also hear new music from Holly Burke, Judith Owen, Jane Irving and Dave Stryker. Pianist Emmet Cohen of pandemic sessions fame, is on the show with music from his 2022 release ...
Continue ReadingDon Aliquo: Growth
by Jack Bowers
On Growth, his eighth album as a leader, it is said that Nashville-based saxophonist Don Aliquo “pushes past his established comfort zone and into more precarious and challenging improvisational territory." While that may well be true, another truism is that the harmonic vocabulary of contemporary jazz has remained essentially unchanged for more than eight decades, and Aliquo does nothing to alter the blueprint. He simply approaches improvisation in his own way while embracing time-honored parameters. In other ...
Continue ReadingDon Aliquo: The Man, The Music, The Journey
by Ludwig vanTrikt
Geography is a central theme in the life and artistry of Pittsburgh's native son, Don Aliquo. The saxophonist, educator and bandleader is part of a rich steel town jazz lineage which includes his father, Don Aliquo Sr., a performing artist and teacher in his own right. There is also a metaphorical geography, in which Aliquo covers virtually all aspects of the jazz experience, from daunting mainstream swing to edgy, modernistic genres.All About Jazz: As a Professor of Saxophone ...
Continue ReadingDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Budd Kopman
Jazz Folk is an homage to jazz musicians (the folks) who put their heart and soul into playing creative music. This straight-ahead record sports four Don Aliquo originals, three pieces from bassist Rufus Reid, and two modern standards. While there is nothing especially new here, and experienced listeners will find no surprises, the individual playing and the group aesthetic is excellent. The musicians obviously know and like each other, and the joy of their playing infuses this ...
Continue ReadingDon Aliquo: Jazz Folk
by Michael P. Gladstone
The music on Jazz Folk has nothing whatsoever to do with folk music. Instead, Don Aliquo reports that he aimed to “capture the soul and spirit of folk music." Perhaps the title refers to “jazz people," which would make more sense.
Don Aliquo is a well-respected saxophonist and educator in Nashville and a Director of Studies as well as Associate Professor of saxophone at Middle Tennessee State University. This is his fourth album, and he accurately describes his ...
Continue ReadingNashville Saxophonist/Composer Don Aliquo Expands His Creative Horizons With 'Growth,' Set For Feb. 17 Release On Ear Up Records
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
Saxophonist Don Aliquo lives up to the title of Growth—his eighth album, set for a February 17 release on Ear Up Records—with a trial by fire. Armed with his tenor sax and bass clarinet, as well as two venturesome, piano-less quartets, the Nashville area-based artist pushes past his established comfort zone and into more precarious and challenging improvisational territory. Aliquo’s eight original compositions are equally audacious. They are simultaneously complex and wide open, signaling that the leader is broadening his ...
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Announcing 'The Innocence Of Spring' By Don Aliquo + Michael Jefry Stevens Live At Hinton Hall On The Arc Label
Source:
Artists Recording Collective + the ARC Record Label
Announcing The Innocence Of Spring By Don Aliquo + Michael Jefry Stevens Live At Hinton Hall on the ARC Label. Recorded live at Middle Tennessee State University’s Hinton Hall, the release of The Innocence Of Spring (ARC-0736) brings together two veterans of the US jazz scene in saxophonist Don Aliquo and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens. In a live performance of raw improvisational clarity and sensitivity, inspiration from the jazz greats of years gone past is evident. Not just in the ...
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Saxophonist Don Aliquo Interviewed at AAJ
Source:
John Kelman
Geography is a central theme in the life and artistry of Pittsburgh's native son, Don Aliquo. The saxophonist, educator and bandleader is part of a rich steel town jazz lineage which includes his father, Don Aliquo Sr., a performing artist and teacher in his own right. There is also a metaphorical geography, in which Aliquo covers virtually all aspects of the Jazz experience, from daunting mainstream swing to edgy, modernistic genres. AAJ Contributor Ludwig van Trikt spoke with Aliquo about ...
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Out Of This World
From: Romance In The DarkBy Don Aliquo
The Jazz in You
From: Soul Serenade-The Gloria Lynne...By Don Aliquo
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Don Aliquo
Location: Pittsburgh
Instrument: Saxophone, soprano
Publicist: Terri Hinte Publicity
