Cathy Segal-Garcia's Noontime Hang featuring baritone sax man Gary Smulyan

My special guest today 7 5 21 my 299th day s guest is baritone sax man Gary Smulyan Mulit-award winning Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan was born April 4 1956 in Bethpage New York Today he is critically acclaimed across-the-board and recognized as the major voice on the baritone saxophone His playing is marked by an aggressive rhythmic sense an intelligent and creative harmonic approach and perhaps most importantly a strong and incisive wit He attended SUNY-Potsdam and Hofstra University before he joined Woody Herman s Young Thundering Herd in 1978 It was a remarkable collection of young musicians who ultimately would find themselves in the forefront of present-day jazz Joining Smulyan in the band were saxophonist Joe Lovano bassist Marc Johnson and drummer John Riley who would eventually become a fixture in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra In 1980 unlike many of his colleagues and peers Smulyan didn t have to go very far to move into New York City proper where he became part of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra then under the direction of Bob Brookmeyer Smulyan also found work with other important large ensembles including the Mingus Big Band and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra At this point in his career he has at least 10 recordings out under his own name Meanwhile he continues to play with wide variety of artists each presenting him with an opportunity to fully express himself In addition to his work on Monday nights with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Smulyan remains close with Lovano working with him in his nine-piece Nonet then there is the exhilarating and liberating Dave Holland Octet and the seminal bassist s Big Band Beyond that Smulyan has also enjoyed stints in the cooperative Three Baritone Saxophone Band as well as working with powerhouse tenor saxophonist George Coleman in his octet and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band that similar to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is comprised of some of the world s best players Gary Smulyan s lineage comes more from musicians like Cecil Payne Leo Parker Pepper Adams Serge Chaloff and Nick Brignola the few baritonists that dared to master the tricky chromatic music known as bebop wrote All About Jazz s Francis Lo Kee in a review Indeed Smulyan is fluent in the language He was heavily influenced by Adams who was known as The Knife for his hearty tone and the energy of his rhythmic playing style Smulyan s Homage featuring Tommy Flanagan was recorded following Adams death and every track on the recording released in 1994 is written by Adams Similarly Smulyan organized the Three Baritone Saxophone Band which places him in the company of two of his seniors Ronnie Cuber and the late Nick Brignola The group released Plays Mulligan in 1998 the date serving as a tribute to the late Gerry Mulligan one of the foremost baritone saxophonists in jazz history and a mentor for These days Smulyan the Long-Island native lives in Amherst Mass with his wife pianist and conductor Joan Cornachio He is a faculty member of Amherst College and serves as the artistic director at the Berkshire Hills Music Academy in South Hadley Massachusetts a two year post secondary music school for eighteen to thirty year olds with developmental disabilities The baritone saxophonist is a four-time winner of the Down Beat Critic s and Reader s Poll s and a multiple winner of numerous other official polls including the Jazz Journalists Award for Baritone Saxophonist of the Year He is a six-time GRAMMY award winner for his work with B B King Lovano Holland and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Coming Days Mike Woffard Jerry Watts Katia Moraes Gregg Poree Ralph Humphrey Jennifer Leitham Rosemary Butler Brad Hatfield Allan Walker Andrea Wolper and Ken Filiano Cathy Segal-Garcia Les De Merle Calabria Foti and more Vocalist curator educator composer producer Cathy Segal-Garcia hosts Noontime Facebook Hangs 7 days a week featuring casual interviews with successful music professionals mostly jazz a www cathysegalgarcia com a for more info and Future guests Archives a https 3A 2F 2Fwww dropbox com 2F 2FAABvHNUZMow6msoWvZeulOJoa a And if you feel like you'd like to help jazz musicians who are in dire financial need please go to a https 3A 2F 2Fcaliforniajazzfoundation org 2Fbecome-a-member-make- E2 80 A6 2F a Thanks

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