Sherman Irby (born March 24, 1968) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

. Irby was born and raised in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...

and found his calling to music at the age of 12. In high school, he played and recorded with gospel immortal

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating tra ...

. He graduated from

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...

with a B. A. in Music Education, where he pledged the Alpha Phi Chapter of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

fraternity in 1988. In 1991, he joined Johnny O’Neal’s Atlanta-based quintet. In 1994, he moved to New York City, then recorded his first two albums, ''Full Circle'' (1996) and ''Big Mama's Biscuits'' (1998), on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

.Down Beat Profile
Irby toured the U.S. and the Caribbean with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1995. During that tenure, he also recorded and toured with

Marcus Roberts Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. Early life Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...

and was part of

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative int ...

's Jazz Ahead Program together with

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

. After a four-year stint with Hargrove, Irby focused on his own group, in addition to being a member of

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebra ...

' ensemble and Papo Vazquez's Pirates Troubadours. From 2003-2011, Irby was a regional director for JazzMasters Workshop, a mentoring program for young children. He has served as Artist-in-Residence for Jazz Camp West, and as an instructor for the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

Band Camp. He was also a board member for several years for the CubaNOLA Collective. Irby formed Black Warrior Records and released Black Warrior, Faith, Organ Starter and Live at the Otto Club under the new label. Irby is a member of the

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. The Orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History In 1988 the Orchestra was formed as ...

with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

. He first played with the orchestra from 1995 to 1997 and rejoined in 2005. Since rejoining , Irby, along with most members of the orchestra, has arranged much of the vast library of music that they have performed. He has also been commissioned to compose new works, including “Twilight Sounds”, and his Dante-inspired ballet, “Inferno”

References

* https://www.jazz.org/jlco-sherman-irby/ Jazz alto saxophonists Clark Atlanta University alumni Living people 21st-century saxophonists Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members 1968 births American jazz saxophonists {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub