Ian Young was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in Berkeley, CA, Boston, MA, and New York City. In his formative years, he studied with Joe Viola, George Coleman and Lenny Pickett. Upon graduating from Friends Seminary High School, he accepted a scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, where he studied with Donald Walden, Robin Eubanks and Paul Cohen. While attending Oberlin, he played throughout Cleveland at such venues as Severence Hall and the Bop Stop. After Oberlin, Ian returned to New York and has performed as a leader and a sideman at the Blue Note, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Sweet Rhythm, the Lenox Lounge, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Dizzy Gillespie Auditorium, et al. He has also performed at such festivals as the Duke Ellington Jazz Fest, New Jersey Jazz Fest, and the Berkshire Jazz fest. In the past he has been recognized for his solo work at the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Chicago, and the Notre Dame Jazz Festival. He has performed and/or recorded with a variety of noteworthy artists such as Charli Persip, Amiri Baraka, Mike Wolff, Pete Yellin, Greg Bandy, Jaguar Wright, Sean Jones, Marcus Belgrave, James Newton, Joe Wilder, Alex Foster, Sherman Irby, Lenny Pickett, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Donald Harrison, Chris Parrello, Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, James Gordon Williams, the Fat Cat Big Band, the New York Classics led by Jack Jeffers, the Bobby Lavell Big Band, Aaron Scott, James McBride, etc. Ian Young’s playing was featured on VH1’s televison show, “Bill Clinton’s Rock ‘n Roll Special.” Ian Young is a Manning Custom Artist and uses Manning Custom products exclusively.
