Results for "Saxophone"

Aaron Gratzmiller

Aaron Gratzmiller is a saxophonist, arranger, and private instructor based in Boston, MA. His energetic playing and stylistic versatility has helped him become one of the most active performers in New England, sharing the stage with notable artists such as Kurt Elling, Antonio Hart, Robert Villera, and Matt Savage among others. Aaron also teaches private lessons at Cambridge Arts Academy (Somerville, MA) and North Main Music (Nashua, NH), and is Director of Arts and Education for the New England Jazz Enrichment Foundation. His current project as a co- leader, the Pearcy/ Gratzmiller Jazz Quintet, presents the tradition of Hard Bop Jazz from the perspective of a younger generation of musicians

MarQuis Hunt

MarQuis (pronounced MAR-kwis) is a Stellar Award nominated recording artist most noted for his expertise playing soprano saxophone, but he is equally gifted on alto and tenor sax. He has performed, written and produced for Grammy and Dove Award-nominated albums. With an impressive résumé, MarQuis has shared stages and performed on albums with Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Backstreet Boys, Fred Hammond, Ben Tankard and many notable others. MarQuis was recognized and nominated as Best Jazz Artist by the Central Arkansas Music Awards. He is recommended by the Arkansas Arts Council and is a member of the prestigious Arts on Tour program

A/B Trio

A/B Trio brings together three of Albertas most in-demand performing and recording jazz musicians – Thom Bennett (drums), Dan Davis (saxophone), and Josh McHan (double bass). This ensemble is inspired by the open sounding, chordless groups of Sonny Rollins and Joshua Redman, as well as the work of Chris Potter and Ari Hoenig. Their material ranges from inventive re- interpretations of standards to modern, original repertoire and high-energy groove-based music. Its fresh, accessible and compelling music for all jazz lovers. Thom Bennett | Drums Multi-talented drummer, Thom Bennett splits his time between performing, producing, and engineering

Collin Sherman

Born: June 14, 1979

Collin was born in 1979 in Lexington, Kentucky. Growing up in Louisville, he began playing saxophone in 4th grade at age 9. He attended Oberlin College (in Oberlin, Ohio) and Tulane Law School (in New Orleans, Louisiana). Collin moved to New York City in 2004, and played with a traditional jazz group on and off while practicing law. He began releasing his own recording in 2012. His early recording were in the ambient electronic vein, partly because the project was entirely self- produced and Collin did not have access to standard recording equipment. As he grew more comfortable recording and producing on his own, he gradually began incorporating his wind instruments (alto and soprano saxophone, Bb soprano and bass clarinet) into his recordings

Michael J. Thomas

Born: July 14

Sax player and vocalist Michael J. Thomas was 19 when he joined the Rockabilly/Jump Blues band Jive Rockets, which opened for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Bill Haley’s Original Comets. While gaining a foothold in contemporary urban jazz since moving to Destin, FL, Thomas’ busy gig schedule allows him to both play sax and sing in a wide array of genres.

Thomas, who became an instant contemporary urban jazz sensation when his single “Baby Coffee” stayed at #1 on the Billboard National Smooth Jazz Airplay and Smooth Jazz Songs charts in 2017/2018, has been on a momentous roll. “I’ll Never Love Again,” his explosive re-imagining of the Lady Gaga hit from “A Star is Born,” became his second #1 Billboard smash, dominating the smooth jazz airwaves throughout 2019. Thomas’ cleverly titled, silky light funk follow-up single “Sippin’ The Yak” hit #2 on the charts, remained in the Top 5 for nine weeks, and rounded out 2020 on Billboard’s Year-End Smooth Jazz Songs chart at #5. “Baby Coffee” currently has over 2.7 million streams on Apple Music, while “Sippin’ the Yak” is up to over 1.6 million and 1.5 million on Spotify. Another one of his enduring hits was “I’ll Never Love Again,” an explosive re-imagining of the Lady Gaga hit from “A Star is Born,” which became Michael’s second #1 smash, dominating the airwaves throughout 2019.

Justin Pierce

Saxophonist, bandleader, and educator Justin Pierce grew up in Southeast Texas, in the Gulf Coast corridor where Louisiana’s music doesn’t stop at the state line. He and vocalist Ashley Pierce began performing together as students at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, beginning a musical partnership now in its third decade. In 2010, they toured Romania with the McNeese Jazz Band under saxophonist Rick Condit, a veteran of the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

Pierce earned his doctorate in saxophone performance at the University of North Texas, where he performed with the One O’Clock Lab Band and studied with saxophonist Brad Leali, former lead altoist with the Count Basie Orchestra. He has taught jazz at the university level for more than a decade.

Adam Price

Born: May 14, 1988

Shawn Maxwell

Born: November 1, 1976

“This is bold music. Maxwell isn’t afraid to try out new ideas and take chances…” – Frank Alkyer, Downbeat Magazine

From his youth in the school music programs of Joliet, IL, through the Music B.A. program at

Millikin University, to 25 years of performing on the Chicago music scene and touring the United States, Shawn Maxwell has developed a unique voice on the saxophone.

“A spirited free-thinker and committed non-conformist” – Bill Milkowski (Millstream album notes)

From his first album of original compositions in 2005, to the 2026 release of his fourteenth album Frenetic Domain, he has forged a distinctive style of writing and arrangement. The traditions of jazz form the foundation for Shawn’s music; he builds on that with inspiration from the music he grew up with – rock, funk, hip hop, R&B, classical. Though his compositions have been compared to Frank Zappa, Philip Glass, the Canterbury Sound, and Bach…

Benjamin Deschamps

Born: May 13, 1988

It was through his classical music background that Benjamin Deschamps discovered jazz to finally make it his own. Although he cumulates artistic mediums (he is a flutist, clarinetist and arranger), it is his talents as a saxophonist and composer that have put him in the spotlight. His gregarious spirit led him to collaborate with several ensembles such as the Rachel Therrien Quintet, Odd Lot (Jacques Kuba Séguin), the Joe Sullivan Big Band, the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal and JazzLab Orchestra (Effendi) before diving headfirst into his own projects. From trio to sextet, he plays with variable ensemble sizes to give the most fitting touch to each work.

Anton Schwartz

Born: July 16, 1967

“What I require for music to really captivate me,” Anton says, “is groove and intellect working in tandem. Music that gets into your bones, into your head and into your heart.” From Louis Armstrong and Lester Young to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, jazz’s greatest improvisers create music that carries an emotional wallop. It’s a lesson that tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz learned well. Like the giants from whom he draws inspiration, Schwartz approaches jazz as a vehicle for reaching the heart and the head. At a time when many of his contemporaries seem to be making music more for their musical colleagues than a wider audience, Schwartz stands out as a player determined to communicate with his listeners