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Adrian Cunningham
Adrian Cunningham is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and world traveller. Originally from Sydney Australia and now based in New York, he is proving to be one of his country's top exports. With fluent command of the saxophones, clarinet, and flute, he is one of the finest multi-instrumentalists in Jazz. Proof of this is in the company he keeps, having recently recorded with Jazz luminaries Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, and Ted Rosenthal with his latest recording Jazz Speak (Arbors), which broke the top 20 in the US national Jazzweek charts.
Adrian is the recipient of the Hot House Saxophone Award for 2017. Adrian's band, Professor Cunningham and His Old School, is the winner of international band competition World Jam, (2016, 2017) held each year in Madrid, Spain.
When he is not busy performing in NYC with some of its finest players, he is touring the world playing jazz festivals and swing events.
Since relocating to New York City in 2008 he has performed at some of the Big Apple's finest clubs- Blue Note, Smalls, Birdland, 55 Bar, Apollo Theatre, Fat Cat, Dizzy's Club (Lincoln Centre) and even a private event at the hallowed Village Vanguard; with such luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Batiste, George Coleman Jr and Jazz luminaries Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, and Ted Rosenthal , Chris Potter, and Renee Marie.
Adrian is currently performing with world-class trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, which included a performance at the London Jazz festival and a recording in Abbey Road studios alongside Wess Anderson, Reginald Veal and Herlin Riley. Adrian has appeared on 2 of Wycliffe's album releases to rave reviews. ("One of the unexpected joys of the album is the rich, woody clarinet of Cunningham" album review; Hot House NYC) Adrian has travelled the globe with the Wycliffe Gordon quintet with a schedule that includes- London Jazz Festival, Johannesburg Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Newport Jazz Festvail; and regular performances in New York at the prestigious clubs Dizzy's (Lincoln Center).
In 2013 Cunningham formed a tradtional/New Orleans style outfit called Professor Cunningham and His Old School, deeply rooted in the Jazz tradition and has fast become one of the top bands in the international Swing scene, having performed at Snowball (Stockholm), SLOX (California), Blue Note Jazz Fest (NYC), CPH:LX (Copenhagen) and Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Cunningham also has a busy Jazz Festival schedule, being such the favorite of many that he is invited back year after year. Such festivals include, North Carolina Jazz Festival, Central Illinois Jazz festival, Newport, and also concerts at the famous Gennett studios (Richmond, Indiana). International festival credits include Montreux Jazz Festival (3 times!!) Johanessburg, Japan, London, Tokyo and Sopot Molo (Poland).
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Professor Cunningham and His Old School: The Lockdown Blues
by Jack Bowers
Given the uncommon position in which the world found itself owing to the global coronavirus pandemic, it was only a matter of time before socially distanced" albums such as this one, recorded by Australian-born Professor" Adrian Cunningham's septet in bedrooms around the world," in April 2020, were bound to emerge. More specifically, in bedrooms in NY state, Vitoria and Girona, Spain, which loosely qualifies as around the world." The idea came to Cunningham during a socially-distanced stroll through New York's ...
read moreAdrian Cunningham: Walkabout
by Edward Blanco
One of Australia's finest jazz musicians, Saxophonist Adrian Cunningham has been busy leading The Adrian Cunningham Quartet in venues around his country of birth, establishing himself as a fixture in New York's vibrant jazz scene since his relocation in 2008. Recorded in Cunningham's home town of Sydney, Australia, Walkabout is a tasteful slice of modern jazz featuring original statements performed by a core quartet, with backup from a four-piece string section. Known as a multi-instrumentalist, Cunningham adds variety and mix ...
read moreAdrian Cunningham Master of The Heart Strings New CD Release
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All About Jazz
Adrian Cunningham: Jazz Master of the Heart Strings By Aparna Datta When we think of jazz musicians we typically expect the best artists to be over the age of 50, after all they have had more experience and more training. However, once in a while we stumble across a young jazz artist who plays as if he has been playing for over a century and Adrian Cunningham is this type of performer. Adrian Cunningham is a young Australian Jazz artist ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson