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Olivia Hughart

Olivia Hughart is a jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, advocate, and a recent graduate of New York University, with a major in Jazz Studies and a minor in Public Policy and Management. She is a gigging and recording musician with bands in New York City, Philadelphia, and beyond. Hughart is a member of the NYChillharmonic, the Grace Fox Big Band, and the Andrew Neu Big Band, has subbed for Triad Brass, New Heights Brass Band, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and is frequently called for off-Broadway productions. Hughart has attracted the attention of the press from various publications including Philly Magazine, NPR Live Sessions, WRTI, NYU News, Cool Jazz Radio, Shoutout LA, Voyage LA, and various podcasts. Hughart is a Presser Scholar, 2023 JEN Mary Jo Papich Women in Jazz Scholarship winner, 2020 Bruce Montgomery Foundation Springboard Grant Winner, and 2020 Pennsylvania Project Stream Grant winner.

Hughart is also the founder and artistic director of Key of She Jazz (keyofshejazz.org), which is an organization that supports and encourages girls and non-binary students in jazz starting in middle school (est. 2014) and uniquely, builds a community of support of all genders and ages. In 2019, Hughart organized the first-ever Key of She Jazz conference, celebrating women in jazz and attended by more than 200 students, educators, and musicians from Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Since then, she and Key of She Jazz have continued to spotlight women in jazz and address gender barriers through a series of virtual events that attracted a global audience; they resumed in-person events in February 2023. Hughart has also led numerous presentations regarding gender in jazz.

Gear

Alto Saxophone Set up: Yamaha YAS-62 Alto Saxophone, Vandoren V16 S Mouthpiece, Vandoren Optimum Ligature, Vandoren Java Green Size 3

Tenor Saxophone: P Mauriat Saxophone System 76, Vandoren Java Red Size 2 1/2

Soprano Saxophone: Bell Crest Unknown Model, Vandoren Java Red Size 2 1/2

Clarinet: Yamaha YCL 61

Flute: Heritage Armstrong

Introducing Saxophonist Olivia Hughart

by Sanford Josephson
March 1, 2024

This article previously appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine. Growing up in Lower Merion, PA, a jny: Philadelphia suburb, Olivia Hughart started playing jazz saxophone in middle school. “My parents were big music lovers," she recalled. “We were listening to music all the time. They're huge Yellowjackets fans, so we'd always listen to Bob Mintzer playing. Also, Dexter Gordon, Larry McKenna, Melissa Aldana, and Roxy Coss." Another influence was her older brother, who played saxophone and now does audio ...

Album Review

Grace Fox Big Band: Eleven O'Seven

Read "Eleven O'Seven" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 19, 2022

In the long history of jazz, it is rare for a teenage musician to establish a big band, let alone lead one. In fact (historians will have to verify this), it may never have happened. One thing is certain—no teenage woman has ever formed a big band and become its leader. Until now. Meet trumpeter Grace Fox, a nineteen-year-old student at the Manhattan School of Music, founder and leader of the seventeen-member, all-female Grace Fox Big Band, which has recorded ...