Born: April 18, 1978 Primary Instrument: Saxophone
Tony Exum, Jr. brings to mind the soulfulness of a David Sanborn, the sultry sounds of the late great Grover Washington, Jr. and silky smoothness of the late George Howard. Not a carbon copy of these greats but a distillation of those influences that formulates a unique approach to the saxophone and thus creating a voice of his own. His musical interests were sparked by his uncle Larry Francis, Jr., a saxophonist in the Ft Carson, CO. army bands and his mothers vast record collection containing the sounds of jazz and funk such as Jeff Lorber, the saxophone of Washington, Sanborn and Howard, Charlie Parker, Ronnie Laws, and Najee. At age 18, Exum began studying music at the prestigious Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver under world renowned saxophonist M. Lynn Baker, M.A. and first call woodwind doubler Art Bouton, M.A. Throughout this time Exum stepped on his own on the local CO scene as he performed with and opened up for such notable acts like The Temptations, the Four Tops, the Chi- Lites, the Manhattans, WAR, Dennis Edwards and the Temptations Review, Lenny Williams, Chelli Minucci and Special EFX, Nelson Rangell just to name a few. Exum's debut CD “Finally” was release May 2010 and features the ingenious production work of keyboardist/drummer James Roberson as well as various members of the Tony Exum Group. The CD has received rave reviews from online publications such as the Smooth Jazz Ride, Urban Jazz News, the urbanmusicscene.com, and smoothjazz.com. In late 2010, Exum signed with manager Mike Reynolds, co-host of the seminal blogtalkradio.com show “Talking Smooth Jazz” and is now on the national radar with online and terrestial radio including WFSS 91.9 FM in NC, KUNV FM in Vegas, K- High.com, Smoothgrooves UK, SmoothGrooves Phoenix, KUVO 89.3 FM to name a few. With a resume' this diverse Exum will be as Grover's hit suggests...The Best Is Yet to Come...
The debut CD of Saxophonist Tony Exum Jr. FINALLY is a disc that encompasses all elements one would expect from the sax man, combining a bit of funk with plenty of contemporary jazz. Hints of Exum’s influences (David Sanborn and the late George Howard and Grover Washington, Jr.) are heard throughout the recording. FINALLY is a compilation showcasing an urban jazz feel that is strongly influenced by R & B and hip-hop that in many ways seems reflective of Exum’s personal journey to this point and appears to come from his heart and soul. The record is thematic and consistent throughout and brings a different kind of energy from that of many c-jazz discs of today. FINALLY contains soulful sax melodies and hard drum and bass grooves that give the disc its definite and unique urban jazz feel. Refreshingly funky yet measured and controlled in that soulful and driven kind of way that is so reflective of much of today’s�”and even a lot of yesterday’s�”smooth jazz, saxman Tony Exum Jr. steps forward to toss in his own pizzazz in the form of a quality debut production entitled Finally (a very telling title indeed). While compared in some ways to the late great Grover Washington, the late great George Howard, and the young, gifted Jackiem Joyner, the artist certainly carries enough firepower to ignite his own identity with no problem whatsoever.--The Smooth Jazz Ride
