Results for "Gary Smulyan"

Gary Smulyan

Born: April 4, 1956

Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan is critically acclaimed as one of the major voices on the baritone saxophone today. As a teenager growing up on Long Island, Gary had the opportunity to perform with Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, and Jimmy Knepper.

In 1978 he was asked to join Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd, which at that time included Joe Lovano, Marc Johnson and John Riley. He left Herman in 1980 and moved back to New York to join the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra led by Bob Brookmeyer. Mr. Smulyan has recorded and performed worldwide with Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Tom Harrell. Cedar Walton, George Coleman, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Tommy Flanagan, Chick Corea, Diana Ross, Clark Terry, Kenny Wheeler, Charles McPherson, James Moody and Slide Hampton, among others.

Ronnie Cuber: Baritone Boss

by Mark McKergow
September 14, 2026

Ronnie Cuber (1941-2022) made his mark on the jazz world as a versatile and muscular baritone saxophonist. Born in New York on Christmas Day 1941, he started on tenor saxophone but switched to baritone at 17, attracted by the vacant chair in Marshall Brown's Newport Jazz Youth Band (which also featured lifelong colleagues Eddie Gomez and Michael ...

Michael Dease Big Band: Return Trajectory

by Jack Bowers
July 3, 2026

While it is not true that a photo of Michael Dease appears in Webster's dictionary next to the word “versatile," the metaphor does not seem too far-fetched once one considers the many tasks Dease carries out on his latest recording, Return Trajectory. Not only does Dease lead his big band, he wrote three of the album's ...

Leigh Pilzer: Keep Holding On

by Jack Bowers
June 19, 2026

There are times when the friends you make can make a world of difference. That is certainly true of baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer's recording, Keep Holding On, whose trio format--admirable in its own way--is considerably enriched by a quartet of friends and colleagues whose expertise helps brighten even further five of the album's 11 already-impressive numbers. ...

Dave Schumacher & Cubeye: Agua con Gas

by Jack Bowers
March 18, 2026

As the name Agua Con Gas suggests, Chicago-born, New York-based baritone saxophonist Dave Schumacher and his Cubeye ensemble favor jazz with an unmistakable Latin accent. Schumacher's fourth album with the ensemble leans south of the border all the way, harbored in a sharp and buoyant rhythmic groove that suits them like the proverbial glove.

Mark Masters Ensemble: Sam Rivers 100

by Dan McClenaghan
May 26, 2025

The Mark Masters Ensemble released Porgy and Bess Redefined! (Capri Records) in 2005. The music was taken from the George Gershwin/DuBose Heyward English-language opera, which was first performed in 1935. Masters' take on the classic was brilliantly expressed by the ensemble, who dug into his adventurous charts with freedom mixed with respect for the familiar and ...

Dave Schumacher & Cubeye: Smoke in the Sky

by Jack Bowers
February 7, 2025

Chicago-bred, New York-based baritone saxophonist Dave Schumacher leans heavily toward Latin melodies and rhythms on Smoke in the Sky, his recording of an able septet he has dubbed Cubeye. Contemporary jazz lies at the core of Schumacher's cross- cultural endeavor, one that his like-minded teammates take readily to heart while lending their insight and expertise to ...

Boss Baritones

By Gary Smulyan

Label: SteepleChase Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Oh Ghee; I'll Never Be The Same; Star Eyes; Hey Lock; Black Velvet; Fifty-Six; Land Of Dreams; Byas A Drink; Straight Ahead.

Keep Swingin'

By Garry Dial

Label: Outside in Music
Released: 2024
Track listing: Keep Swingin’; Great Awakening; Bat Cave; Pine Needles; Mummy’s Curse; Bernie Burnola; A- 440; Nero; Pluto Language; Pelaghia.

Gary Smulyan: Boss Baritones

by David A. Orthmann
September 16, 2024

The once-popular pairings of such incisive hard-blowing saxophonists as Johnny Griffin with Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Gene Ammons with Sonny Stitt constitute some of the inspiration behind the making of Boss Baritones. Incorporating material penned by Griffin, Davis, Illinois Jacquet, Don Byas and J.R. Monterose indicates a healthy respect for giants who may no longer be ...