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Vincent Herring

Vincent Herring is a saxophone virtuoso with a uniquely intense and vigorous musical voice. He is considered one of the premier saxophonists of his generation.

Vincent first toured Europe and the United States with Lionel Hampton’s big band in the early 1980’s. As he developed his musicianship working with Nat Adderley, a partnership blossomed that continued for nine years. Along the way he worked and/or recorded with Cedar Walton, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Hayes, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver Quintet, Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition, Larry Coryell, Steve Turre, The Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron, Nancy Wilson, Dr. Billy Taylor, Carla Bley, and John Hicks.

Vincent has appeared as guest soloist with many artists and ensembles including Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center and John Faddis with the Carnegie Hall Big Band. While amassing these impressive credentials, Vincent continued to develop his own voice and style. Inspired by a collage of diverse musical influences, Vincent is also involved in Jazz education and is currently on the faculty of William Patterson University. He conducts master classes and jazz workshops at conservatories and universities around the world.

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Album Review

Mike LeDonne: Wonderful!

Read "Wonderful!" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


In jazz's rich tapestry, where tradition meets innovations, there emerged a convergence exemplified by the present release Wonderful! with the virtuosic Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir, who embark on a transcendent journey into the heart of gospel- infused jazz. The project is informed by LeDonne's desire to offer a heartfelt tribute to his wife Margaret and daughter Mary to showcase the spirited and varied nature of the disability community. Participating in this harmonious affair are the long-time members ...

7
Album Review

Mary Stallings: Songs Were Made to Sing

Read "Songs Were Made to Sing" reviewed by Dave Linn


One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco in 1939. In her teens, she began singing in San Francisco night clubs and performed with Ben Webster, Earl Hines, Red Mitchell, Teddy Edwards, and Wes Montgomery. Before graduating from high school, she joined R&B singer Louis Jordan's Tympani Five. In the early '60s, she performed with Dizzy Gillespie at both the Black Hawk nightclub and the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival. Her debut album was Cal Tjader ...

2
Album Review

Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Homing in on the electric, ancestral vibe of Rudy Van Gelder's house of musical myth and magic in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the Heavy Hitters, spearheaded by journeyman pianist Mike LeDonne and well-traveled saxophonist, Eric Alexander, approach this eponymous debut with a ballsy, brassy, big sounding blueprint which carries through the entire recording. In deciding who best to share Van Gelder's hallowed space with, LeDonne and Alexander brought in the big guns--namely trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, alto saxophonist Vincent ...

5
Album Review

Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


There was a period back in the middle years of the 20th Century and beyond when All-Star Groups were quite common, including the Buck Clayton All-Stars, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, and Gene Harris and the Phillip Morris Superband among several other similar aggregations. In today's musical environment, this kind of coming together of high profile musicians is exceedingly rare, primarily driven by cost issues, although availability of the musicians is also a limiting factor. Pianist & organist Mike LeDonne was ...

40
Album Review

The Heavy Hitters: The Heavy Hitters

Read "The Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Heavy Hitters. Hyperbole? A matter of fact? Or simply the name given by co-leaders Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander to their newly minted sextet. The third statement is true--but so is the second. From pianist LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Alexander to fellow front-liners Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) and Vincent Herring (alto sax) and the Washingtons, Peter on bass and Kenny at the drums, these gentlemen are by any measure heavy hitters. Their first album as a unit ...

6
Album Review

The Heavy Hitters: Heavy Hitters

Read "Heavy Hitters" reviewed by Troy Dostert


The self-titled debut from the Heavy Hitters, pianist Mike LeDonne's latest sextet, has the feel of a tribute album. However, unlike most recordings of that nature, there is no classic repertoire present, as all nine tracks are penned either by LeDonne or his colleague, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Instead, it is a tribute to a sound that LeDonne and partners are aiming for: in this case, that of the iconic Blue Note label's 1950s-60s period, when artists such as Freddie ...

1
Album Review

Patty Lomuscio: Star Crossed Lovers

Read "Star Crossed Lovers" reviewed by Paul Beard


The Italian singer Patty Lomuscio had long dreamed of making an album in New York with pianist Kenny Barron. Now she has done so. Alongside Barron is drummer Joe Farnsworth, bassist Peter Washington and Vincent Herring on alto saxophone. The title track, comes across really well. Lomuscio's talents start to shine through and then with the next offering, “This Can't Be Love," it becomes obvious that a certain British Dame has influenced this Mediterranean songstress: her scatting is ...

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Performance / Tour

Smoke Jazz Club Announces June Line-Up With NEA Jazz Master George Coleman, Vocal Great Mary Stallings, A New Project From Vincent Herring, An Album Release By Orrin Evans All-Star Quintet, And More

Smoke Jazz Club Announces June Line-Up With NEA Jazz Master George Coleman, Vocal Great Mary Stallings, A New Project From Vincent Herring, An Album Release By Orrin Evans All-Star Quintet, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations

George Coleman Quintet (Jun 1-4); Orrin Evans All-Star Quintet record release (Jun 8-11); Vincent Herring and Something Else! (Jun 15-18); Mary Stallings (Jun 22-25); and more… Rated the #1 Jazz Club in New York City (Secret NYC), Smoke Jazz Club kicks off the start of summer with some of today’s living legends. NEA Jazz Master George Coleman returns with his special quintet (Jun 1-4), soulful saxophonist Vincent Herring gets inspired by the classic Blue Note album Something Else! (Jun 15-18), ...

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Performance / Tour

Something Else! Vincent Herring Septet Honors Cannonball Adderley At Birdland from September 6-10, 2022

Something Else! Vincent Herring Septet Honors Cannonball Adderley At Birdland from September 6-10, 2022

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Something Else!, will launch at Birdland on September 6-10, 2022 with two sets a night at Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater. The shows will feature Vincent Herring, alto saxophone, James Carter, tenor sax, Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, Russell Malone, guitar, David Kikoski, piano, Essiet Essiet, bass and Johnathan Blake, drums. Something Else! is the only Blue Note album by Cannonball Adderley recorded and released in 1958 and became an iconic masterpiece presenting funky, soulful and bluesy Jazz which was the ...

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Festival

Three Spectacular Days Of Cultural Bridges At The New York Japanese Jazz Festival At Smoke Jazz Club From June 25-27, 2019 In NYC!

Three Spectacular Days Of Cultural Bridges At The New York Japanese Jazz Festival At Smoke Jazz Club From June 25-27, 2019 In NYC!

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity

The inaugural New York Japanese Jazz Festival will be launching June 25-27, 2019, as part of a three-day series heralding the undiscovered talents from the island on the other side of the world. Featuring a “who’s who” of American Jazz Greats, with a treasure trove of Jazz music’s future stars there will be something for everyone during this multi-day event that features three groups per night. The New York Japanese Jazz Festival will take place for three nights at SMOKE ...

3

Recording

Elio Villafranca's "Cinque" Features Wynton Marsalis, Lewis Nash, Vincent Herring, Steve Turre, Greg Tardy & Freddie Hendrix

Elio Villafranca's   "Cinque"  Features Wynton Marsalis, Lewis Nash, Vincent Herring, Steve Turre, Greg Tardy & Freddie Hendrix

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Cinque is a five movement suite inspired by the story of Joseph Cinque, who in 1839 led a successful revolt aboard the slave ship La Amistad, days after being sold and transported to a sugar plantation in Cuba. Elio Villafranca's most ambitious project today, showcases the cultural diversity of the five Caribbean islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, and Jamaica; while simultaneously highlighting the Congolese musical heritage woven into the fabric of each of these diverse nations, ...

2

Contest

Enter the "Vincent Herring - The Uptown Shuffle" Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Enter the "Vincent Herring - The Uptown Shuffle" Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Smoke Sessions Records “Vincent Herring - The Uptown Shuffle“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on April 1st. Click here to enter the contest (Becoming a fan of Vincent Herring at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at Smoke Sessions Records About The Uptown Shuffle Playing alto saxophone that Cannonball, Stitt and Woods would love, not ...

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Performance / Tour

Vincent Herring at the Royal Room - February 29

Vincent Herring at the Royal Room - February 29

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

NYC Saxophonist Vincent Herring

with: Bill Anschell—piano Chuck Deardorf—bass Matt Jorgensen—drums

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 THE ROYAL ROOM 5000 Rainier Avenue South Seattle

Sets at 7:00 & 8:30pm Buy tickets through Stranger Tickets

Seattle Jazz Scene continues their foray into producing jazz concerts by welcoming New York alto saxophonist Vincent Herring to Seattle on Wednesday, February 29, for two sets at The Royal Room in Columbia City. ...

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Performance / Tour

Vincent Herring at the Royal Room - February 29

Vincent Herring at the Royal Room - February 29

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene

Seattle Jazz Scene presents: NYC Saxophonist Vincent Herring with: Bill Anschell—piano Chuck Deardorf—bass Matt Jorgensen—drums WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 THE ROYAL ROOM 5000 Rainier Avenue South Seattle Sets at 7:00 & 8:30pm Seattle Jazz Scene continues their foray into producing jazz concerts by welcoming New York alto saxophonist Vincent Herring to Seattle on Wednesday, February 29, for two sets at The Royal Room in Columbia City. Vincent has developed ...

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Performance / Tour

Remembering The Miles Davis Classic "Kind Of Blue" Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band Featuring Jeremy Pelt, Vincent Herring Javon Jackson, Larry Willis & Buster Williams

Remembering The Miles Davis Classic "Kind Of Blue" Jimmy Cobb’s So What Band Featuring Jeremy Pelt, Vincent Herring Javon Jackson, Larry Willis  & Buster Williams

Source: Michael Ricci

Friday, February 11, 2011 at 8:00PM in the Science Center Theater on the Campus of Montgomery County Community College (Blue Bell, PA) Blue Bell, PA—A highlight of the Lively Arts Series Transitions will be a performance of “Kind of Blue: Remembering the Miles Davis classic featuring Jimmy Cobb's So What Band. They will be presented in concert, Friday, February 11, 2011 at 8:00PM in the Science Center Theater on the Campus of Montgomery County Community College, Route 202 and Morris ...

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Recording

Vincent Herring, "Morning Star" (CD Review)

Vincent Herring, "Morning Star" (CD Review)

Source: Between the Grooves with Philip Booth

I recently reviewed alto saxophonist Vincent Herring's Morning Star for Jazz Times. Click here to go directly to the review, which appeared in the magazine's September issue, or read the full text below. Vincent Herring & Earth Jazz, Morning Star (Challenge) Shades of the Headhunters, Weather Report, the Crusaders and, not surprisingly, Cannonball Adderley's electric-jazz releases color the sound of Vincent Herring's Earth Jazz Agents (here, minus the “Agents"), the gifted alto saxophonist's working funk and fusion quartet. Yes, it ...

107

Recording

Recent Listening: Vincent Herring

Recent Listening: Vincent Herring

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Vincent Herring & Earth Jazz, Morning Star (Challenge). The rhythm section known as Earth Jazz is electrified, funkified and synthesized. Collaborating with them, Herring looks back to the heyday of '60s and '70s soul, with stylistic references to Herbie Hancock, early Weather Report and tinges of Azymuth and The Crusaders. His customary power and tonal perfection on alto and soprano saxophones are intact, even as he adheres to the limitations of the setting. The title tune eases up on the ...

Adam Claussen
saxophone
Alex León Reyes
saxophone, alto
Carly Stock
saxophone, alto

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Wonderful!

Cellar Music Group
2024

buy

Gin

Self Produced
2024

buy

Heavy Hitters

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

The Heavy Hitters

Cellar Records
2023

buy

Love In The City

Nana Notes Records
2022

buy

Standing by The...

ArtistShare
2022

buy

Afro Blue / Afro-Centric

From: Love In The City
By Vincent Herring

Seen on the Scene

From: Seen on the Scene
By Vincent Herring

Ale

From: My Other Voice
By Vincent Herring

Cinque + Narration 2 (Part 1)

From: Cinque
By Vincent Herring

Videos

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