Results for "saxophone, tenor"

Chu Berry

Born: September 13, 1908

Had Chu Berry's life not been cut short when he died at age 33 as the result of an automobile accident, who knows what might have been. But what he did achieve was enough. Considering the brevity of his life, and that his recording career spans a mere decade, it is remarkable that his name continues to loom large in the annals of jazz. Leon "Chu" Berry was born in Wheeling on Sept. 13, 1908, into a relatively well-to-do family that included a very musical half sister who played piano in a jazz trio that rehearsed in the Berry home, Chu's love of music and the saxophone was born. Inspired by Coleman Hawkins (whom he heard on tour) to take up the saxophone, he played the alto instrument while at Lincoln High School in Wheeling and at West Virginia State College in Charleston

Joey Berkley

Born: September 28, 1957

Tenor Saxophone
Composer
Arranger
Recording Artist
Educator…

…migrating south from Toronto, Canada in 1978, Joey Berkley immersed himself in the competitive New York City jazz scene. The musician benefited from his experiences in Manhattan, and maintains that these early years of struggling were not only necessary, but also crucial to his musical development. In fact, his CD that was released in 1999 and marks his debut as the bandleader of the Joey Berkley Quartet, is aptly titled Made in NYC. The disc, which features many of Joey’s original compositions, came out on A- Records. Both as a freelance musician on the NYC music scene or with his own groups including The Joey Berkley Quartet, Joey has performed in many of the prestigious venues past and present- Birdland, The Village Gate, The Apollo, Radio City Music Hall and the Bottom Line. In 2002 Joey co-founded the Westchester Jazz Orchestra (WJO)

Sam Taylor

Born: November 24, 1982

“Patiently and lovingly devotes himself to the song…Nothing but rapt attention to the song, to melody, to the way a great artist can make us feel” – Michael Steinman, Jazz Lives

Hailed by All About Jazz as "wise beyond his years" and "remarkable" by Toronto Music Report, saxophonist Sam Taylor lives and performs in New York City. A Philadelphia native, Taylor is a recording artist on Cellar Live, with an upcoming 2022 release featuring trumpet great, Terell Stafford. In support of his previous recording, Taylor lead his group on a five concert tour of the Pacific Northwest and Canada in January of 2020

Buddy Tate

Born: February 22, 1913

For more than seven decades, Texas-bred George "Buddy" Tate graced the American jazz scene with his hard-blowing tenor saxophone style. A resilient tone with high register inflections in the so-called "Texas tenor" sound distinguished Tate among his swing era colleagues. He was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra during the late 1930s and 1940s and later became a bandleader in his own right By most accounts, Tate was born George Holmes Tate on February 22, 1913, in Sherman, Texas. He began performing in 1925 while still in his teens when his brother handed him an instrument and asked him to play tenor saxophone with the family quartet called McCloud's Night Owls

Lew Tabackin

Born: March 26, 1940

Lew Tabackin flutist and tenor saxophonist, is an artist of astonishing vision. His electrifying flute playing is at once virtuosic, primordial, cross-cultural, and passionate. His distinctive tenor sax style includes the use of wide intervals, abrupt changes of mood and tempo, and purposeful fervor, all in the service of showing the full range of possibilities of his instrument - melodically, rhythmically, and dynamically. Without copying or emulating jazz greats of the past, Lew Tabackin has absorbed elements into his style, ultimately creating his own sound and aura. His interest in music began in his birthplace, Philadelphia, where he first studied flute and then tenor saxophone in high school

Robert Stewart

Born: August 17, 1969

Robert Stewart - tenor saxophone Tenor sax sensation Robert Stewart did not even begin to play the saxophone until the age of 17. Born and raised in Oakland, California, basketball had been the primary passion of his youth. His 6ft. 4in. frame, earned him varsity shooting guard status on the Fremont High School basketball team for two years. However, Stewart was struck by divine revelation shortly after graduating from Fremont. While surfing the radio to find a Rap or R&B station, Stewart stumbled upon a traditional jazz piece being performed by a tenor saxophonist who sounded as though he were literally possessed or enraged

Grant Stewart

Born: June 4, 1971

Born in Toronto, Canada on June 4, 1971, Grant Stewart was exposed to the music of Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray and Coleman Hawkins by his father, a high-school English teacher and semiprofessional guitarist. Father and son often played together for hours on end. It was through these early experiences and his father's encouragement that Stewart first developed a strong ear for melody, style, and improvisation. He began with the alto saxophone at age 10, and when he was 14 his first teacher, noted Toronto bandleader Pete Schofield, invited him to play professionally in Schofield's Big Band. At 17 he switched to the tenor saxophone and was soon playing with such master saxophonists as Pat Labarbara and Bob Mover

Tommy Smith

Born: April 27, 1967

Smith grew up in the housing schemes and began his prolific career at 14 when his quartet won Best Band, and he received Best Musician Trophy at the 1981 Edinburgh Jazz Festival. A year later, he was invited to appear on the TV show 'Jazz at the Gateway' with Niels Henning Ørsted Petersen and Jon Christensen; toured with the European Youth Jazz Orchestra, and recorded his quintet for BBC Radio.

At 16, he released his first two albums, Giant Strides and Taking Off! and studied at Berklee with financial assistance from Sean Connery. He joined Gary Burton's quintet after a recommendation from Chick Corea at 18, toured worldwide, and recorded on ECM's album Whiz Kids.

Zoot Sims

Born: October 29, 1925

John Haley "Zoot" Sims was born in Inglewood, California. Growing up in a vaudeville family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age. His father was a vaudeville hoofer, and Sims prided himself on remembering many of the steps his father taught him. Following in the footsteps of Lester Young, Sims developed into an innovative tenor saxophonist. Throughout his career, he played with renowned bands, including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. Sims was also one of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers", and he was known among his peers as one of the strongest swingers in the field

Mark Shim

Born: November 11, 1973

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, saxophonist Mark Shim moved to Canada then later settled in Richmond, Virginia. He started on saxophone in seventh grade, graduating from high school in 1991 and attending Virginia Commonwealth University and William Paterson College. In 1994 he moved to Brooklyn, where he played and recorded with Hamiett Bluiett in Harlem. He then played with Mose Allison, Betty Carter, Greg Osby, and the Mingus Big Band.

Shim's debut recording Mind Over Matter (Blue Note, 1998) was followed by New Directions , a young group project, that included Osby, Jason Moran, and Stefon Harris and then his second recording as a leader, the outstanding Turbulent Flow, both released on Blue Note in 2000.