2013 Artist-in-Residence Gary Smulyan
“Gary (Smulyan) is great, he is just fabulous. Gary is a master!”
--Jimmy Heath interviewed by Jazz Inside NY Magazine
artist talks & clinics:
Gregory Porter will be joining Artist-in-Residence, Gary Smulyan, in an Artist Talk on Saturday, August 10th from 4:45 - 5:30. On Sunday, August 11th Gary will host a talk with Papo Vazquez from 4:50 - 5:20. Gary will also be the host of several live interviews over the weekend in between our Mainstage acts. Check back to our Artist Talk page for a schedule!
interview with gary smulyan
Check out this great 2012 interview between A-I-R Gary Smulyan and Festival PR & Marketing Director about artist talks & clinics, Gary's roots in the jazz world and more. Click HERE to read it.
Gary Smulyan, baritone saxophonist and bebop master, is one of the major voices on his instrument today. He is the undisputed King of Baritone Sax. With six Grammy’s under his belt and perennial “Top Bari Sax Player” in every poll every year, he’s tops in everyone’s book. But it’s not just his amazing playing that makes him such a treasure—it’s his imagination!
Gary got the jazz bug early in high school sitting in with artists like Chet Baker and Lee Konitz. After college he joined Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herd. In 1980, he became part of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and then worked with the Mingus Big Band and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has shared the stage and studio with Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Tito Puente, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Diana Ross. With more than 10 CDs as a leader, he works regularly with Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Joe Lovano Nonet (with whom he appeared on the 2011 Litchfield Jazz Festival), the Dave Holland Octet and Big Band, tenor great George Coleman and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. He is a faculty member of Amherst College and joined the Litchfield Jazz Camp as a teaching artist in 2011. This is his second year as Artist in Residence at Litchfield Jazz Festival.
This year marks Gary’s third appearance on the LJF. His Baritone Summit features Lauren Sevian, Claire Daly and Andrew Hadro on baritone saxophones. This great quartet of baris will be backed by the rhythm section of Helen Sung, piano, Jon Michel, bass and Matt Wilson on drums.
Gary Smulyan is the 2013 Artist in Residence for the 18th Annual Litchfield Jazz Festival.
Head over to the Baritone Summit profile to learn more about his performance on Saturday, August 10th at 3:30 PM.
Performance Date 
